A little bit left of centre
by Ti-girl
Summary: A tragedy sends Joanne Jefferson for a loop, making her take responsability for something she never wanted, someone she never really knew. With the help of her friends, can she make it through? Or will enough be enough?
1. Chapter 1

**I do not own any of the characters from RENT. I just take them out to play, I will put them back.**

Please note, English is not my first language, so be easy on me if my grasp of the English language is not that it should be.

Thank you for reading

Joanne Jefferson pinned her hair back with a few bobby pins and ran her hands down the freshly ironed pinstriped pants. Her apartment was immaculate, as always, her files carefully arranged alphabetically, her groceries stocked with the labels facing out. Yes, she was slightly neurotic and bit more than slightly anal, but it was one lawyer trait that exemplified her. Strong, organized, out together. That was Joanne Jefferson.

Her cellphone rang shrilly, causing her to trip over her expensive designer shoes. "Damn." She muttered, pulling the offender out of her purse. "Good morning, Joanne Jefferson." She expected to hear the amazingly high-pitched voice of her lover Maureen Johnson, but instead she heard a sombre male voice identifying himself as constable James Crawford. Her mind wandered to happier times after she listened to him explain how her parents died in a car crash.

--

"So what are you going to do?" Tom Collins asked softly, watching the younger woman run her finger over the top of her beer mug.

"Go and take care of the arrangements I guess." She looked up and gave him a small smile. "Though there's something that not too many people know."

"Your parents are filthy and they left everything to you, their only daughter?" He asked hopefully.

"You're right up until the 'only daughter' part." She shrugged. "I have a sister. She was at boarding school...don't give me that look!"

Angel Dumont Schunard gave Joanne a hug. "Oh sweetie, I'm so sorry."

Collins laughed. "Boarding school..."

"Who's going to boarding school?" Roger Davis asked sitting down beside Collins, his girlfriend Mimi Marquez beside Joanne.

"Joanne's sister." Collins said leaning back on his chair.

"I didn't know you had a sister." Mark Cohen said, placing his jacket on the table.

"Yeah, you didn't tell me that Pookie." Maureen said, joining the group.

Joanne sighed. "Yes I have a sister, her name is Alexandria. She's 16, and she's at Westover boarding school."

"Cost a pretty penny to go there." Roger noted, ordering another beer. "Does she know your parents died?"

"No, I took tomorrow off so I can go and tell her myself. It's not something you say over the phone." Her voice cracked and she swallowed hard, trying to keep from crying.

"I can come with you." Maureen said, running her hand down her lover's arm.

"I know...but...this is something I have to do on my own." She took a long swing of her beer. "Thanks for being here guys." Placing a handful of bills in Collin's hand she grabbed her jacket and left.

"Think she'll be okay?" Mimi asked as she watched Joanne weave through the parked cars and traffic.

"She will be, she's Joanne." Collins said joining her at the window.

"She has to, she's the strong one." Mark replied.

--

"Alexandria Jefferson? She's in class right now."

Joanne sighed. "I realize that. I'm her sister, and I need to talk to her."

"She's in her Political science class at the moment, I can see if I can page her." The woman relented finally.

"That, would be nice." Joanne replied, trying to keep her sarcasm low.

A few minutes later a girl wearing the blue, grey and white uniform of Westover school came around the corner. She was taller than Joanne had remembered, her dark curly hair pulled back in braids, her eyes hidden behind a pair of expensive sunglasses. "You paged?" Pulling the sunglasses down low on the bridge of her nose, she turned to her older sister and gave a sarcastic smile. "Oh, you've FINALLY decided to come and visit your sister? What, did mom and dad die?" The second the words were out of her mouth she frowned. "They did, didn't they."

"Alex…I'm sorry. There was a car crash."

The younger of the two shook her head and turned quickly, her black patent leather shoes making no sound as she raced down the hall.

"Alex. Wait…please." Joanne rushed to catch up, grabbing her younger sister by her forearm. "Lexi…talk to me."

The sisters looked a lot alike, Alexandria standing a few inches taller than her older sister, her hair darker and her skin lighter, though the biggest difference were in the eyes. Joanne had piercing black ones, while Alex had blue/green eyes, ones that seemed to burn into the very being of your soul.

"Talk? Talk about what? I see you, what, once a year? If I'm LUCKY? At Christmas? You're just here because you HAVE to be." She spit like words out like they burned her mouth.

"I'm here because we're FAMILY damn it and I love you. We only have each other." Joanne replied. She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. "How about I take you out for lunch? If I remember correctly, the food here stinks."

Alex chewed on her lower lip and stared at her older sister. "Okay. Only because you're right, the food stinks and I skipped breakfast."

"One meal, it's all I ask." Joanne reached her hand out. "Come on, let's get your jacket. It's raining out there."

--

"When did you start eating like that?" Joanne pointed to the plate of food Alex had ordered.

"I don't eat processed foods." Alex shrugged and picked at her veggie burger and sweet potato fries.

The silence enveloped them, Joanne watching her younger sister who seemed more interested in the décor than her sister.

"So when's the funeral?"

"Next week. I'll make all the arraignments for it." Joanne said softly.

"I'm 16, I'm not useless." Alex replied, placing her fork down. "I CAN help you know." Her voice softened and she looked at her older sister. "So what happens now? You ship me off to Westover each year I spend the summers overseas so you don't have to deal with me?"

Joanne sighed. "I don't want to just get rid of you. If you want to, you can stay with me and go to school in the city. You don't HAVE to stay at Westover, I won't make you. I want to be part of your life. Do you think you might want to come and live with me? I have a big apartment…and mom and dad left me as your legal guardian…"

"Can we get through the funeral first and then talk about it?" Alex's voice came out as a squeak. She blinked madly, trying to keep the tears from falling. She looked down at her plate, her chin quivering. Her body flinched when she felt Joanne's arm wrap around her, but she didn't look up.

"Hey, Lexi," Joanne started, using her childhood nickname to put the teen at ease. "How about we go back to your dorm and pick out enough stuff for the week and we'll go from there, how about that?"

The younger girl just nodded, wiping her eyes with her school tie.

--

"Joanne? Joanne Jefferson!?"

They turned around to see the headmaster of the school sprinting down the hallway. "It IS YOU! It's been YEARS! It's so great to see you again!" She wrapped the older sister in a bone crushing hug. "Here to see your sister? Alexandria is quite the student, but nothing compared to you, but you probably know that don't you?"

Joanne looked at Alex who glared out of the corner of her eye and shook her head. "It's nice to see you too Mrs. Morris. I'm just actually here to pick up Alexandria. There was a death in the family and we're heading to New York to deal with the arrangements."

"Oh you poor dears. Well Alexandria, you run along and grab your stuff. I'm sure there will be enough time for your sister and I to catch up, won't there Joanne?"

Alex shot a pleading look at Joanne. "Actually, we're already late."

"Oh. Okay. Well, when you come back we MUST catch up."

"We will." Joanne put her arm around her sister. "Let's go grab your stuff."

--

Alex pressed her face up against the cool glass of the car window and watched the scenery fly by. Their conversation had been nothing more than a few words and monosyllabic grunts.

Joanne's phone rang breaking the silence. She reached out and grabbed it. "Good afternoon, Joanne Jefferson. Oh, hey. Well, we're on our way back to the city. I would have to check, hold on…" Covering the mouthpiece with her free hand, she nudged Alex. "My friends are on the phone, they were wondering if you were up for grabbing a bite to eat once we come in. They want to meet you and lend their support."

The teen shrugged. "Whatever."

Joanne eyed her sister nervously before turning back to the phone. "Okay. We should be in town in about 20 minutes. We'll see you then." She shut off her phone and sighed. "Alex, I know we haven't been close…"

"Understatement of the year." She turned and roughly wiped her face with the back of her hand. "We're 15 years apart. That's like…a lifetime. I know you resented Mommy and Daddy for having me…"

"I did not…But like you said, we're fifteen years apart. I wasn't sure what to do with a little girl…you were so small…I was already away at school. I'm sorry I never made much of an effort…but…"

"I always thought you were the coolest. I had a sister who was a lawyer…who lived in New York by herself." She shrugged. "But I thought you didn't like me. So I just wrote you out of my life. Makes things easier that way." Turning back to the window she sighed. "How much longer till we get there?"

"About 10 minutes." Joanne whispered, the words resonating in her head. "I always thought you were a pretty cool kid."

For the first time all day Alex smiled. "I still am." She showed her deep-set dimples and perfectly straight white teeth that shone against her mocha skin.

--

"There they are!" Mimi squealed manning the window. She ran back to the table with the rest, waiting for Joanne to enter Life Café.

"You sure they're going to like me?" Alex shoved her hands deep into the felt of her expensive pea coat.

"Sure they are." Joanne put her arm around the younger girl and smiled. They walked into the noisy pub waving at the people sitting around the table.

"Oh my gosh! You look like a mini-Joanne! Baby Jo!" Angel squealed wrapping the girl in a hug. Alex frowned, pulling back.

"Whoa Baby, let the girl breathe." Collins said with a smile. "I'm Collins."

"Alex." She replied eyeing up the group sitting around the tables. She turned a deep crimson when she mentally tallied the cost of her school uniform alone, realising that it was probably more than everyone else's clothing combined.

"Mark."

"Roger."

"Mimi."

"Angel."

"Maureen."

Alex smiled and tried to remember the names. "Nice to meet you all." She said softly, sinking into the nearest chair.

Maureen wrapped her girlfriend in a hug. "Do you need any help making arraignments Pookie?"

"Pookie?" Alex mouthed watching her sister and the tall brunette.

Mark smiled and looked at the young girl. "So, tell us about yourself, Alex."

She shook her head, her dark curls bouncing, finally tearing her eyes off the lesbian couple. "You guys go first."


	2. Chapter 2

**I don't own them, except for Alex. I just took them out to play.**

**Thank you for the reviews. Right now I have bronchitis so I have been trying to write in between my sleeping/coughing fits.**

**TG**

"I'm a videographer." Mark said with a smile, showing Alex his camera. She feigned interest and ran her fingertips lightly over the machine.

"Make anything I've seen?"

Roger laughed. "Probably not, he's only made one documentary."

"And you've only ever written one song." Mark retorted punching Roger in the shoulder.

"It was a good one too." Roger grinned at Alex who examined his unruly hair with an air of disapproval. Her eyes wandered over to Joanne who was sitting on Maureen's lap, the brunette's arms firmly wrapped around her waist.

"So tell us about you." Mimi prodded the younger girl gently.

"I'm sixteen." She offered nothing else pulling her knees up to her chest. They stared at her, rotating from her to Joanne who offered a weak shrug.

"Surely there has to be something more to you than just your age." Collins said flashing a grin.

"I'm sixteen." She repeated again glaring at them. "I'm sixteen and I just lost both my parents. Is that what you wanted to hear?" Jumping up like she was burned she shifted her weight from side to side. "Is that what you all wanted? That's all there is about me."

"Alex…" Joanne warned softly.

"DON'T!" She spun on her heel and clenched her jaw. "Don't ALEX me. You don't have the right!" Storming out of the Café she left the table staring at each other in confusion.

"Sorry guys. I should go and check on her." Joanne apologized standing up.

"No, you wait. I'll go check." Mimi said pushing the lawyer back down. "I'm a bit younger, and I've been through it." She explained wrapping her thin jacket around her. The weather was getting colder, snow threatening in the wind.

"Alex…" She called. "Alex, I know you're around here."

"What do you want?"

Mimi looked up and saw Alex sitting on the fire escape above Life Café. "Can I join you?"

"Doesn't matter what I say, you'll do it anyway."

Quickly she scaled the escape and sat beside the teen. "You know, Joanne is probably worried about you."

Alex rolled her eyes, looking an awful lot like Joanne. "Yeah right. Then why did YOU come out here?"

"Because I'm closer to your age and I thought we could chat."

Crossing her arms across her chest Alex shook her head. "Joanne cares about one person and that's Joanne. She's just taking care of me because she has to. NOT because she wants to."

"How do you know that?"

Glaring at the dancer, her light eyes flashing Alex pursed her lips. "NO ONE ever wanted me. I was a mistake. Who wants kids fifteen fucking years apart?" She spit out bitterly. "That's why they sent me Westover, forget about me for the school year and then send me overseas for the summers. 'Learn. Get experience.'" She scoffed. "Yeah right. It was more 'Get out of the house.' I'm not Joanne so I didn't matter to them. Do you know how many times I heard 'It would be so much easier if you were like Joanne?' Hell, even the teachers at Westover liked Joanne better. Why does it even matter? Joanne doesn't care about me." She sighed, the energy draining from her body.

Mimi sighed and watched the girl lean against the frozen railing. "I know your sister better than you do. She'd give the shirt off her back to anyone. She's not the wicked witch you're trying to make her out to be."

"So she likes YOU, big deal." Alex flicked some rocks off the fire escape and watched as they narrowly missed two pedestrians.

"She loves you." Mimi replied softly. "Come on, let's go back inside. I'm freezing."

Alex shrugged but followed the tiny dancer down the ladder and back into Life Café. Mimi sat down with a triumphant smile on her face. "She was just out for air."

"We should get going, we have lots of stuff to take care of tomorrow." Joanne apologized.

"Give us a call if you need us." Angel said, giving Joanne a kiss on the cheek.

"Thanks." She extended her hand out and pulled Maureen to her feet. "Let's go."

Giving a small wave to the crowd, Alex shuffled after them, her eyes downcast.

--

"This is the spare room. Make yourself at home."

Alex placed her backpack on the floor and sat down on the bed. Tears welled up in her eyes.

"Hey, Alex…it's okay." Joanne wrapped her arms around her sister and let her cry. Maureen watched in the doorway, her heart breaking for her lover.

Slowly Alex pulled away. "I'm okay…I just want to sleep." She whispered, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand.

"Okay. You need anything, you just ask." Joanne gave her a kiss on the top of her head and left the room, shutting the door behind them.

"You gonna be okay, Pookie?" Maureen passed her an opened beer and they both collapsed on the couch.

"Yeah I think so." She took a long swallow of the beer and sighed. Tenderly Maureen ran her fingers through Joanne's hair and left the lawyer lean against her. "I'm just not sure about Alex."

Maureen shrugged and kept playing with her hair, moving the lawyer's head onto her lap. "She'll be okay. If she's anything like you, she'll be fine. If she's even half as strong, half as caring, half as amazing as you are…she'll be fine." Her lips brushed Joanne's gently. "You're amazing Joanne. How did I get so lucky?"

Joanne sniffed softly, tears pooling in the corners of her eyes. "No, I'm the lucky one." She whispered closing her eyes. "I'm exhausted, but too wound up to sleep."

Pressing a small pill into Joanne's hand, Maureen nodded. "I figured as much, take this. It's just a sleeping pill. Take one and try to get some sleep."

"Will you hold me?" Her voice was soft and defeated.

"Forever baby. Forever."

--

Some soft footsteps woke Maureen. Joanne was still sleeping fitfully beside her. Pulling a pair of sweatpants off the floor, she threw them on and padded out of Joanne's bedroom. Alex was standing on the counter, riffling through the shelves.

"She usually has breakfast meetings." Maureen said softly.

"Oh." Alex stared down at the brunette who's hair was pulled back in a loose ponytail.

"We can go pick something up." Maureen offered. "There's a bagel and coffee place just down the street."

"Okay." She hopped off the counter and pulled on a grey hooded sweatshirt and a bright coloured knit toque.

"We'll let Joanne sleep for a bit longer, she didn't sleep very well." Maureen explained.

"Whatever." Alex shoved her hands deep into her pockets and followed the loud brunette outside. They walked silently until they reached the "Great Bagel". "What type of bagels does Joanne like?"

"Cinnamon raisin usually."

"Half dozen cinnamon raisin bagels." Alex turned to Maureen. "What type do you like?"

"Chocolate chip."

"Half dozen chocolate chip bagels and half dozen 22 grain bagels please. And three large coffees." Then the realization hit her. She didn't even know how her sister took her coffee.

"How does Joanne like her coffee?"

Maureen smiled. "Just cream."

"And you?"

"Two cream, two sugars."

"One black, one with just cream and one double-double." Alex passed over a few bills and grabbed the coffees.

"Can't believe you drink your coffee black." Maureen commented as she watched the girl take a sip of what could only be described as sludge.

Alex shrugged and held the door open with her foot. They bounded up the stairs and put the bagels on the counter.

"Maureen?" Joanne poked her head out of the bedroom. "Where were you guys?"

"Food." Alex replied pointing to the bagels. "And coffee." She placed the steaming cup in Joanne's hand. "Cream."

"Thanks Lexi…"

The girl shrugged. "I was hungry and your…Maureen said there was a bagel place close by." She placed a grain bagel in the toaster and perched on the edge of the counter. "What time do we have to start doing shit?"

"Later this morning, about 1130, we have a meeting with the funeral parlour. You don't have to come if you don't want to."

"I'll come along." She bit into her bagel and hopped off the counter. "Bathroom?"

"First door to the left."

"Thanks."

They watched as the girl finished her bagel and coffee and left the room. "Thanks Maureen."

"For what?" The diva asked smiling as Joanne wrapped her arms around her.

"You didn't have to go with her. I'm sorry if she gave you any trouble."

"No troubles. She's just really quiet."

"Not usually." Joanne sighed. "It's hitting her hard."

"She just lost her parents, and I think she's afraid of losing her whole family…you." Maureen kissed Joanne's neck.

"Can I handle a teenager? One that I don't even know?"

"That's not the question you should be asking. Can WE handle a teenager?" Maureen smiled. "And the answer is yes. It takes a village to raise a child…and I think we have the best village in the area."


	3. Chapter 3

Here is the newest chapter. Please note that Alex is sixteen and is struggling with everything going on, and she's sixteen and all sixteen year olds are obnoxious. Right? Anyway, she will get better as the story continues.

Thanks for all of the reviews, they mean a lot!

The hot water beat down on her body, rinsing away the pain, stress and heartache she felt. She ran her hands through her tight curly hair and rinsed the creamy conditioner out. Shutting off the water she slipped into a pair of worn jeans and a turquoise long sleeved shirt.

"You look pretty." Joanne said with a smile as Alex exited the washroom.

"Thanks. So do you." Alex pulled her hair out of her eyes and gave Joanne a forced smile. "I like your sweater." She pointed at the golden sweater Joanne was wearing.

Joanne gave her a small squeeze before walking back into the kitchen.

"You okay?" Maureen asked as Joanne flicked on her small coffee maker and watched the dark brown liquid begin to drip.

"I'm not sure." She conceded, her head in her hands. "I can be strong for me…but I'm not sure I can be strong for her."

"I don't think you're giving her enough credit. If she's anything like you are, she'll be strong." Maureen sighed and wrapped her arms around her.

"Thanks Baby."

Maureen looked at her watch. "Sorry Pookie, I have to go."

"'Sokay." Joanne leaned in and kissed Maureen soundly. "Just call me before you come over, I'm not sure when everything is going to be done."

"Sure thing. Love you Pookie."

"Love you too, baby." She watched as the long legged brunette grab her jacket and leave the apartment.

Quietly Alex padded into the kitchen, a book clutched in her hand. She sat down and flipped through the book, nervously fanning herself with the pages.

"What are you reading?"

"L'Etranger by Camus." She whispered, not looking up to meet the dark eyes of her sister. "Jo…" Her voice came out as a squeak. "I miss Mom and Dad." Tears welled up in her eyes, dripping and falling onto the book. She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, thinking to herself the irony of her tears falling on a book about the absurdity of human existence in an indifferent universe. An involuntary jerk ran through her body as she felt Joanne wrap her arms around her. She wanted to scream, she wanted to yell, she wanted to fight. Fight the feeling of security that washed over her as Joanne's arms enveloped her in a tight hug.

"Shhh…its okay. It's okay to cry." Joanne whispered, running her hands through her sister's curls, identical to her own.

"As if that blind rage had washed me clean, rid me of hope; for the first time, in that night alive with signs and stars, I opened myself to the gentle indifference of the world." Alex mumbled, pulling herself free of the secure embrace. She met Joanne's eyes, eyebrow raised in a silent challenge. "Did you know that I was first team allstar last year in hockey?" She conceded.

"What? No…" Joanne wiped a stray tear away with her thumb.

"Figures. Dad told me that if I studied half as hard as I practiced, I'd be half as good as you were." She shrugged and chewed on her lower lip. "This was after I pulled off a 4.0 GPA and went to the Tournament of Champions for debate."

"Oh Lexi…you know that you don't have to be someone you're not, at least not around me." Joanne fave her sister's hand a tight squeeze.

Rolling her eyes and pulling her hand away she laughed. "We'll see. We have to leave pretty soon, eh?"

Joanne looked at her watch. "Yeah, we should get going."

Wiping her eyes one final time, Alex grabbed her jacket and followed.

--

"What do you think about that one?" Joanne pointed to a dark wood casket.

Alex raised an eyebrow and frowned. "It's a box that's going into the ground, people are going to see it for half an hour. Who cares?"

The funeral director looked taken aback and shook his head. "You want your parents to go out in style, don't you?"

"They'll be eaten by maggots in a matter of months anyway…" Alex retorted, earning a glare from Joanne.

"Know what Mister Sampson, I'll come back later." She smiled polietly at the director and escorted Alex out of the funeral parlour. "That, was uncalled for."

Alex shrugged. "It's true."

"Want to go meet everyone for lunch?"

"Whatever, doesn't matter what I say." Alex muttered, staring out the window of the car.

--

"Is she getting ANY better?" Collins looked over at the girl who was tearing her napkin into a pile of shredded paper, ignoring everyone around her.

"Depends on the hour. One second she's crying, the next I see a flicker of the old Alex." Joanne took a swallow of her beer and stared at Angel who was trying to get Alex to talk. "You might have better luck talking to her Collins, she was reading L'Étranger earlier today."

"Ah, the great Existentialist novel." Collins smiled and reached over and messed up the pile that Alex had been working on.

"Whadja do that for?" She scowled at the dark man.

"Hear you like Camus."

"Yeah, so?" She started to make her pile again, shielding it with some of the empties on the table. "What's it to you?"

"I'm a philosophy professor." Collins said with a grin. "Thought you might want to talk about it."

"Thought wrong." She pulled the book out of her bag and put it in front of her defiantly.

Collins shrugged and looked back at Joanne who had her head in her hands. "See my problem?"

"Yeah, did you ask her if she wants to live with you?"

"She wants to kill me." Joanne shook her head. "Probably better to give her to social services."

Alex peered over her book, her light eyes flashing. "Do it. I dare you." She taunted her sister. "Take the easy way out as ALWAYS. Perfect Joanne Jefferson. Know why she's so fucking perfect? It's because she never does anything hard. She always takes the easy way out." She shoved the book back in her messenger back and slung it over her shoulder. "Know what, I'm gone."

They watched as she stormed out again.

"That went over well." Angel conceded rubbing Joanne's leg. "Want to go after her?"

"Not really."

--

"How'd you get back?" Tammy Scott asked her roommate who stormed into their small-shared room.

"Credit card." Alex waved it around before collapsing on her bed.

"Sorry 'bout your folks." Tammy pushed her blonde hair behind an ear and gave her roommate a small smile.

"Yeah well, I'm over it." Alex stared at the ceiling. "I'm gonna be leaving pretty soon."

"Oh? Going to live with your sister?"

"Fuck no." She smirked and propped herself up on her elbow. "She doesn't want me. She just wants to be with her bohemian poor ass friends and her fucking skank of a girlfriend. She's a lesbian, did you know that?"

"Uh…"

"Yeah, she's just gonna call social services on me." Her blue eyes rolled dramatically. "What did I miss?"

"Um…nothing much, we have practice tomorrow…and we have an American History test…"

"I'll ace it." Alex closed her eyes and quickly was asleep.

--

"She's gone." Joanne stood outside in the sleet and swore at herself. "She's GONE Collins!"

Collins pulled his jacket around himself. "She's a sixteen year old girl from a boarding school in New York City…where the hell would she go?" He thought about it for a second. "Shit, she's a sixteen year old girl from a boarding school in alphabet city in New York…" He looked around madly. "I'll start asking around…"

--

"What do you MEAN they have to be missing for forty eight hours before you can file a missing persons report? She's MISSING! She's SIXTEEN!" Joanne screamed into the phone. "Yeah well, fuck you too." She slammed the phone down and looked helplessly at her friends. "They won't send a search party out until she's been missing for forty eight hours."

"Maybe she went back to Westover." Mimi said gently. It was late, far too late for them to do anything but worry.

"With what money?"

Roger shrugged. "Doesn't every girl that goes to prep school have a credit card, one way or another?"

"Son of a bitch!" Joanne slammed her hand on the counter making everyone jump. "Son. Of. A. Bitch."

--

"How'd the American History exam go?"

Alex stopped and fired a puck at the net. "Fine." She leaned forward and re-tied her skate lace. "Good to be back on the ice. Forget about everything." Adjusting her cage she skated around, the cold air whipping her face. Out there she could be herself. She could do no wrong, she could just be Alexandria Jefferson.

"Got a crowd watching practice too…" Tammy said, peering into the stands. Alex followed her gaze before lowering her head.

"Oh shit."

--

"Which one of those is Alexandria Jefferson?"

The young man leaning against the bench looked up. "Alex? The firecracker out there, number 9, black." He pulled his jacket around him. "She's damn good too. Damn good, probably the best skater we have out there."

"When is the practice over?" Joanne asked.

"Half hour maybe. They're going to do a scrimmage and then they're done." He wrote a few things on his clipboard. "Can I help you with anything? I'm Brennan, assistant coach."

Joanne shook her head. "We'll wait."

They turned back to the ice, eyes glued to number 9. He was right, she was the best out there. Fast, skilled and cocky. She slammed herself against the boards in celebration; she spun in circles, the puck seemingly tied to her stick. Finally the whistle signalled the end of the scrimmage with Alex hitting the puck out of the air like a baseball player for good measure. Joanne jogged and cut her off as she exited the ice.

"Alex…we need to talk."

Alex pushed her helmet up, high on her forehead so she could see her without peering through the bars. Cockily she looked around. "What, no social services rep? Oh, but you brought your army." She motioned to everyone else who were standing around, looking uncomfortable.

"We need to talk." Joanne repeated looking through her cocky façade. "Hurry up."

Shoving past her, Alex slammed the door to what could only be the locker room and reappeared a few minutes later, wearing a hooded sweatshirt and the bottom part of her equipment minus the skates. "Okay, I'm here."

"We were worried about you." Joanne started, taking a small step back from her sister. "We had no idea where you were…if you got abducted…or worse."

"Well I'm fine. You can call social services now." She was much cockier now, being in her own environment. It gave her the edge that was something bread into the Jefferson genes.

"Family belongs together." Glaring over Joanne's shoulder, Alex looked at Angel who smiled serenely. "Girl, family belongs together, that's why we're all here. We're family. You, Joanne, all of us. So get your stuff and we'll head home. And I'm not taking any of your shit little missy." She crossed her arms across her chest and me the girl's glare. "So lets go."

Joanne swallowed a laugh as Alex's mouth opened and closed with no sound coming out. Angel may be the sweetest person in their group, but also could be one of the scariest when she wanted to be. Regaining her senses, Alex crossed her arms and returned the glare. "Why? Give me ONE good reason."

"You can choose your friends, but you have to kill family." Angel said simply. "Now go shower, you smell."

Alex made a noise, a cross between a snort and a cough, but to her credit didn't say anything and stomped off towards the locker room.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: Still don't own any of them…well, I guess technically I own Alex…but who would own up to that?**

"Who was that?"

Alex shook her head and peeled off her equipment leaving it in a pile of damp and quickly turning cold gear. "My sister and her group of cronies." She wrapped the brightly coloured towel around her body and waited for the water to heat up. "Gave me the whole 'we're a family' bullshit speech." The steam obscured their faces and bodies, but their voices remained clear, echoing in the tiled shower.

"Well she is your family Alex. You can't help that." Tammy said over the pounding water.

"So I've heard." Alex replied, allowing the hot water to beat down on her, rinsing away the suds, memories, sweat and pain. "They're all going to be waiting for me outside." She shut the water off and began to dress in her black sweatpants and matching hooded sweatshirt. "I should climb out the window and make a mad dash."

"You wouldn't be able to get out." Tammy replied with a laugh. "You'd have to climb UP!"

"I can do it…I just don't feel like it today." Alex retorted throwing her gear into her bag and shouldering the black behemoth. "Better go and face the music." She made a face and kicked open the door, ready to face the group of inevitably angry people.

The door opened making the group jump, the smell of sweat, damp clothes and fruity shampoo washed over them in a damp cloud, followed by the noise of two teenaged girls, hidden by large black bags.

"Alex."

She spun around, bag on her shoulder, and almost taking out Roger and Mark who were leaning against the wall. They moved at the last second, the bag merely left them gagging for air as the damp air brushed past them.

"What do you have in there, a dead body?" Roger complained eyeing the bag up with fear.

"Just twenty pounds of damp gear." She replied as the bag made a loud and dull thud as it hit the rubberized floor. The boys jumped back a step as she opened the bag and began rifling through it. "Oh get a life, I'm just getting my drink out." Rolling her eyes she jumped up on the railing and uncapped her drink and put it to he lips. "So…"

Joanne looked around the group, meeting their encouraging faces and earning a smile from Angel and Collins and a squeeze from Maureen. "How long will it take you to pack your stuff?"

Alex took a long swallow of her red sugary drink and looked at them with a cocky look on her face. "Why?"

"Because you're coming home with me. We're family, we need each other. I need you." Joanne said softly, trying to ignore the stares she was getting from the other players leaving the locker room.

Teetering precariously on the railing Alex seemed to contemplate the words before shaking her head. "No dice." She took another long swallow of the red liquid, getting a red moustache in the process.

"What do you mean 'No dice?'" Joanne asked meeting her sister's blue eyes.

"No dice. Not happening. Just pay the money and leave me at Westover. You'll be able to do whatever the fuck you want and then during the summers send me off to a school in Europe, hell, even CANADA." Alex flipped her bottle into the garbage can and looked at Joanne. "Then when I'm 18, I'll get some of the money Mom and Dad left…and you can live with…them," Her eyes trailed to Maureen, "and you can ignore me."

"I don't WANT to ignore you." Joanne tried to reason. "We're family, whether you like it or not, and I'm your legal guardian. I'm not going to pawn you off. Families are meant to be together."

"Feeling guilty?"

Joanne the lawyer, the side of her that she kept well hidden with her friends, reared her head. With her hands on her hips, head cocked to the side and a look that could kill even the stealthiest of lawyers she approached her sister. "No, I do NOT feel guilty. Fuck Alex. I do honestly care about you, and at the moment, you have no choice. I'm your legal guardian. So grab your shit, and let's go." Brown eyes met blue, neither Jefferson willing to back down. It was like a staring contest that everyone knew could last for days. Finally Alex, her attention span waning looked away.

"My shit's in my room." She relented finally, pulling her hair into a loose ponytail at the nape of her neck.

"Great, we can start there." Joanne said with a smile. "Shouldn't take too long if we all help out, right?"

"Well SOMEONE has to sign me out...get my transfer forms. Close out my room." Alex rattled off the list with a smirk. "Have to talk to the headmistress, get my athletic transfers in order....and my academic transfers...And my stuff is heavy." She added finally.

"Well if it's anything like your BAG..." Roger said, nudging the bag with her hockey stick, "We're going to need all the man power we can get."

"We can help you pack your clothes!" Mimi exclaimed, grabbing Angel's hand.

"We can move the bigger stuff." Collins said looking over at Roger and Mark, who were still eyeing the hockey bag suspiciously. "I'll even carry your hockey bag. That will free up Joanne and Maureen to do...all of the other...more boring stuff."

Alex hopped off the railing and stood over her bag protectively. "I can carry my OWN bag, thank you very much." She took a deep breath. "But thanks for offering. Let's go to my room. Jo, you know the way to the headmistresses office."

--

"How much stuff does she HAVE?" Mark groaned as he laid a box in the back of the cars that they had borrowed from Joanne's office.

"A lot." Came the reply. "Come one, we have to Tetris pack this shit." Collins popped up from the back of the car and started shuffling boxes.

"I hope the girls are having a better time than we are with her clothes." Roger grumbled, shoving a box into the back.

--

"Oh my gosh, this is so cute!" Mimi squealed holding up a pink shirt. "Adorable."

Alex shook her head but said nothing as she continued to launch clothes into a large bag. The two bohemians took turns exclaiming their suprise at her clothes and asking her questions about the rest of her wardrobe. "You're so lucky, you have all this stuff!"

"Depends on how you look at it." Alex muttered shoving another pair of shoes into the bag.

"What do you mean?" Angel asked looking at the teen.

"Notice how many friends I have helping me pack." Throwing herself onto her bed she looked up at the ceiling. "The clothes, shoes, music...it was mom and dad's idea of love. If you haven't noticed, I'm a bit of a pretentious snob."

A giggle escaped Mimi's mouth. "Not at all."

"I don't make friends easily, probably because I'm such a bitch to them. Always trying to be the best, that's the Jefferson way isn't it? Takes too much time to be nice to someone, so it's much easier just to be a bitch." Alex tossed a bag out into the hallway, nearly hitting a redheaded girl.

"Hey, watch it Jefferson!"

"Shut your piehole, cake eater." Alex called at her back, flipping her the bird. "What a cow." She muttered under her breath, returning to the room.

"Alex, you're a sweet kid…you just have to…" Angel started.

"Tone down the attitude?" Raising an eyebrow Alex gave a shy smile. "Don't worry, I've heard it a lot. But it's easier to just make enemies than friends."

"Well you don't have to try with us, nina…like I said, you're family." Angel wrapped the girl in a hug, Mimi following quickly.

--

"Joanne Jefferson! How nice of you to stop by again!" Edna Morris exclaimed, opening her office door to her favourite alumni student.

With a fake smile on her face, Joanne withstood the older woman's hug. "Hi Mrs. Morris. I'm here to get Alex's paperwork figured out so we can transfer her to Hunter College High school."

"Oh dear, you're transferring Alexandria out? We'll surely miss her." Edna ushered them into her office. "I'm so sorry, you are?" She extended her hand to Maureen.

"Maureen Johnson…I'm Joanne's…"

"Girlfriend." Joanne draped her arm over Maureen's shoulder and turned to the shocked headmistress. "Could we start with the paperwork? I'd like to get Alex settled as soon as possible."

"Uh…Hunter College…are you sure that Alexandria will be comfortable there? It's for high performing student athletes…"

Joanne sighed, rolling her eyes dramatically. "Las time I checked, ALEX, has a 4.0 GPA, made it to the tournament of champions for the debate championship and played on four National athletic teams. Is there anything else I should know?"

"She has also been suspended, twice, for her attitude, and was the leader in penalty minutes in the state and national hockey championships." Edna looked over Alex's file and folded her fingers. "I'm not sure if Alexandria would fit in with the Hunter College expectations."

Maureen could almost see smoke billowing out of her ears as her temper began to flare. "I just need you to fill out Alex's transfer papers, both academic and athletic. I'll expect the forms by Monday." Her dark eyes flashed.

"Is there anywhere I can send them, Joanne?" Edna asked, a trace of surprise and hurt in her voice.

"Yes, you can send them to my office via express post." She passed her card across the table. "Good afternoon."

They got up and left the office, Joanne still seething from the experience. "What a bitch." She muttered, straightening her jacket. "What a total bitch." They walked down the empty halls of Westover Prep school, Joanne's heels making a staccato rhythm against the tile, forcing Maureen to jog to keep up.

--

"Yeah, she's sleeping." Collins looked beside her, putting his papers aside that he was grading. "You sure you up for this Joanne? I mean, you're going to have to become a mother, father and sister to a teenaged girl."

Joanne shrugged and kept her eyes on the road. "Know what Collins? A few weeks ago had you asked me that, I would have said no. I probably would have said 'hell no.' But," She looked at her sister through the rear view mirror, "after seeing the pain she's in…and the way she's reacting to every little thing. She needs me. She needs to be shown that she's loved, that she's wanted, that she's…important. Special."

The large man smiled at the way Joanne, tough as nails lesbian lawyer Joanne, turned into a pile of mush. "You'll do great Jo." He adjusted Alex in the seat so she was leaning against him, still sleeping. "She does seem like a pretty neat kid."

"Sad thing Collins, I can't really remember her. She was just my bratty kid sister…but my parents sent her to Westover the second they could, in the first grade. I just kind of forgot about her."

Maureen looked at the sleeping teen. "Sounds like a lot of people did."

They sat in relative silence as music flowed through the radio. "That's why I can't give up on her." Joanne said finally.

Alex shifted in her sleep, her eyes fluttering open. Realising that she was leaning on the older man, she smiled apologetically and moved against the door of the car. "Sorry." She mumbled.

"Hey, none of that. I moved you. You looked uncomfortable." Collins smiled and patted her knee.

"Thanks." She blushed and ran her hands through her curly hair. "We close to getting there?"

"Yeah, only about 15 minutes." Joanne replied smiling.

Yawning, Alex smiled shyly. "Good, I'm kinda tired."

"We noticed." Maureen retorted with a chuckle.

"Sorry."

"Hey, I wasn't blaming you for anything." Maureen said turning around and smiling at Alex who tried to avoid Maureen's eyes. "Alexandria, seriously. I wasn't getting upset."

Alex bit her lower lip. "Okay…and Miss Johnson…it's Alex."

"It's Maureen."

--

"Thanks for all of your help guys." Joanne passed out beers to her friends as they all sprawled on her furniture.

"No problem, glad we could help." Roger said, cracking the beer and smiling. "Though you paying for food and beer…makes it better."

Joanne grinned and wiped her brow with the collar of her shirt. "I'll got check on Alex and see if she's going to join us for pizza." She wandered into the hall of the apartment and knocked softly on now Alex's room. "Hey Lexi, can I come in?"

"Sure, it's open."

The door opened a sliver and Joanne peered in at Alex who was finishing up with the last of her boxes.

"Almost done?"

"Pretty close." Alex sighed and looked at her new surroundings. "Jo…Sorry I was such a…bitch."

A grin crossed Joanne's face. "No problem kiddo. Hey, we've ordered some pizzas, do you want to join us?"

"I'm starving." Alex admitted, wiping her hands on her jeans.

"Good, we ordered a lot. Come one, everyone's out there."

Her blue eyes darkened. "You sure they aren't mad at me?"

"Nah, they aren't the type to hold grudges. Now come on, let's get there before the pizza does or else the boys will eat it all." Joanne said, draping her arm over her sister's shoulders.

A grin is what she got in return. "Hey, she lives she breathes!" Angel exclaimed waiving at the teen.

The comment got a chuckle out of Alex. "And I'm even being social." She perched on the edge of the couch, still unsure of her position in the little "family." When Collins grabbed her and placed her in the middle of Angel and Mimi.

"What kind of pizza do you like?" Mimi asked breaking the silence.

"Anything that doesn't end in I." Alex wrinkled her nose, making everyone else laugh.

"We can do that, we have a few Vegheads here anyway." Mark said with a smile, happy that the teen was slowly coming out her shell. "So, where are you hiding that THING you call an equipment bag?"

Alex rolled her eyes. "Give it a break already…and it's in the storage room airing out."

"Remind me never to go in there." Roger mumbled, receiving a sharp elbow in the ribs from Mimi.

"Be nice."

He rubbed his side and glared at his girlfriend. "I am nice."

A girlish giggle escaped from Alex who covered her mouth with both of her hands. "Sorry, it's just that you've been a grump since I've met you." Alex admitted.

"Yeah well…brooding rockstar thing." Roger said with a slight smirk.

An hour and six empty pizza boxes, everyone seemed wiped out, Alex's head on Mimi's lap, the teen sleeping soundly.

"We should get going." Mark conceded with a yawn.

"Yeah, let me wake Alex up and I'll get her to move." Joanne said, swallowing the bit of her beer.

"Don't bother, I'll grab her." Collins said, gently lifting Alex into his arms. He smiled as her eyes fluttered opened and tried to focus on the large man.

"What're doing?"

"Taking you to bed."

"Okay." She whispered, her eyes falling closed again.

--

"We're going to be alright." Maureen whispered to Joanne. "I think we're going to be alright."

Joanne wrapped the brunette in her arms and smiled. "We've got the best family ever."

"We do." She leaned over and placed a kiss on the lawyer's forehead. "Go to sleep Pookie, long day tomorrow."


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer – As per usual, I don't own any of the characters from RENT. I'm not as amazing a Jonathan Larson. Though I do own Alex…and apparently the other characters that keep popping up.**

**Hope you all enjoy.**

"You okay?"

Alex looked up from the two coffins that were being lowered into the ground. She had barely said anything all day, and kept trying to remove herself from the groups of people surrounding her. She shrugged and watched as dirt began to fill the holes.

Maureen took one step closer to the teenager, not really knowing how to approach the situation. Joanne was talking with the funeral director, the rest of her friends mingling with the mourners. Alex finally looked up at her and tossed a handful of dirt into the hole. "I think I'm okay. Thanks for asking."

A smile graced the diva's face. "Anytime." Unsure of the next step she shoved her hands deep in her pockets. Alex wiped her hands on her black jacket and pulled the collar up higher. The silence surrounded them, the sounds of the other mourners blending into the background. Joanne looked over her shoulder at her lover and her sister, standing shoulder to shoulder in silence. Politely she excused herself and made her way over to them.

"Hey."

Alex squatted in the dirt, her skirt brushing the damp soil. "Can we go home?" She looked up at the two women, her eyes rimmed with red. "I can't take one more apology. I can't take one more 'Oh YOU must be Alex', and a sad smile. I just can't." She took handfuls of dirt and rolled them in her hands.

Joanne sighed and sat down beside her, shocking Maureen that Joanne, her Joanne, would get her expensive designer clothes all muddy, sitting in the dirt. Without thinking Maureen sat down beside Joanne and gave her a supportive smile.

"Could you handle going back to Mom and Dad's place for the wake? Then we can head home." Joanne draped her arm around Alex's shoulders. "There will be food."

"Can I stay in the back?"

"Sure you can." Joanne replied, sighing as she felt her sister's head lie on her shoulder. "Then we'll get you ready for school in the morning." She wrapped her free arm around Maureen and pulled her close. "We're in this together, ladies."

"Who are you calling a lady?" Collins asked draping his arms around his friends. "We're all in this together. Whether you like it or not."

--

"I'll drop you off at school on my way to work, and then I'll pick you up after. Once we figure things out and you're more comfortable the subway goes right by the school." Joanne said, taking a sip of wine.

"Okay." Alex looked around her parent's house and sighed. It was large, imposing and cold. She remembered holidays there, when she was the baby of the family. And referred to as the baby. The study, where only Joanne and her Dad could go, not the baby. The conservatory, where only Joanne and her Mom could go, not the baby. And then there was her room. White. All of it white. With china dolls lining the walls. White. All of them, white. She made herself a plate consisting mainly of buns and carrots and wandered into the back room, pulling her legs underneath her. The pool table was there, taunting her. It may have been juvenile, but she didn't care. She picked up a pool cue and with all of her strength she snapped it in two and threw it out of the open window. "It was probably a three hundred dollar pool cue too." She thought with a smirk watching the pieces of wood fall into the garden.

Mimi looked out the window with a smile on her face. "Hey Jo, it's raining."

"Raining?" She looked outside the window to catch some pool balls falling into the garden. "Oh Alex. Excuse me." Leaving the room and marching up the stairs she made a beeline towards the room that she knew housed the pool table. "Alex?"

"Yes?"

"What on Earth are you doing?" She asked, stepping in the room.

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm throwing stuff out of the window." Alex said, a smile creeping onto her face.

"Okay, the question is, why?"

"Crushing the rose garden." She turned and faced her sister. "I was never allowed to be in here, did you know that? Because I might break something. I wasn't allowed in Daddy's study because I might get something dirty. I wasn't allowed in mom's conservatory, because I might wreck her precious flowers. Guess what? I'm wrecking her precious fucking flowers now."

Joanne tried hard not to laugh, seeing her sister systematically drop pool balls on her mother's award winning roses. "I didn't know that you weren't allowed in those rooms."

"I wasn't allowed in any of them, except mine. Because I might break something. One time, I went to your room, to sit and pretend I was cool like you. Mom caught me in there, and I got a whooping of a lifetime…didn't think that I would sit for a week." She dropped the eight-ball and sighed. "I just wanted to be noticed…to be like you." With a final flourish of pool balls and cues she spun around. "I feel better now."

Swallowing hard, Joanne forced a smile. She didn't. She didn't feel better at all, actually, she felt worse.

--

"You know you're going to a public school, you can wear whatever you want." Maureen said looking up form the table.

"What do you mean?" Alex straightened her skirt and frowned. She was wearing what she normally wore. A grey knee length skirt, a white button down shirt and a vest.

"Pretty sure in public schools they don't wear that."

Frowning, Alex looked at Maureen. "Well…what do you wear?"

"Come on…" Maureen dragged Alex into her room and started looking through her closet. Re-emerging with a pair of jeans and a bright pink tshirt, Maureen threw them at Alex. "Wear those. And I'll get you a sweatshirt." She skipped into her room and began pulling clothes off the hangers. Finally she found what she was looking for and ran out of the room. Alex was sitting on the cupboard pulling at her shirt.

"Maureen, I look stupid. I hate this shirt."

"But you look hot in it." Maureen reasoned. "Wear this over top." She tossed her a tight black hooded sweatshirt. "Don't worry, it will fit you."

Alex put it on and smiled nervously. "How do I look?"

"Thought you were wearing your skirt?" Joanne asked coming out the washroom.

"Oh my GOD, no one likes my clothes!? She exclaimed, throwing her hands up in the air. "I'm going to go to school naked! I swear!"

"Can't. One of the rules of Hunter." Joanne smirked, giving Maureen a peck on the lips. "Come on, grab your books and we'll hit up _The Great Bagel _on the way. We'll be home around four honeybear."

"Have fun."

Alex made a face and followed Joanne out the door.

--

"Nervous?"

Swallowing her coffee Alex shrugged. "Not really. I mean, it's just another school, right?"

"Right." Joanne smiled and pulled up to a building. "Here it is."

"Jesus. Is that a school or a prison?" Alex looked at the windowless building.

"It's a public school, best one in the city too." Joanne said parking the car. "Come on, just give it a chance."

Sighing, Alex closed her eyes and gathered herself. "Okay. Let's go." She exited the car and waited for Joanne to come around the car. They walked up the walk together and entered the school.

"We're meeting with Mrs. Marsha O'Donnell." Joanne said checking her day planner. "At 8:30."

"Which it is now."

They spun around and smiled at the redheaded principal of the school. "You must be the Jeffersons."

Joanne smiled and reached her hand towards the older woman. "Joanne. And this is my sister Alexandria."

"Alex." She shook the principal's hand before shoving them back in her jeans.

"Nice to meet you Joanne, Alex." She smiled and ushered them into her large and brightly lit office. "Please sit down. Now Alex, I'm so glad that you've decided to choose Hunter College High School. I'm sure you'll fit in great."

Alex adjusted the bookbag on her lap and shrugged. "Thanks, I guess." She glared at Joanne when she elbowed her. "I mean, thank you. I'm looking forward to being here."

"Well here is your class schedule, you can take a look at it." Marsha passed a piece of paper across her desk. "How does it look?"

"Fine. It says classes start at 9am…can I go check out my locker and get to my first class? History." Alex stood up and replaced her backpack. "May I?"

"Of course you can." Marsha smiled at the teenager who nodded and looked at her sister.

"3:30ish, front entrance?"

"Yep, we'll finish up here. I'll see you after school." Joanne smiled and watched as her sister exited the office.

"I'm really impressed with Alex's resume." Marsha commented. "She's quite the scholar and quite the athlete."

"She is."

"You must be very proud of her." The principal's smile was large and sincere. "I'm especially impressed with her debate resume."

Joanne forced a smile. "Actually, Mrs O'Donnell, Alex and I…we haven't really been the closest, so I was kind of hoping that you would be able to keep an eye out on her. I'm not sure how she is going to react with all of these changes…"

"I understand. I have a daughter, a bit older than Alex…so I know what you're going through. I'll keep you updated on her progress."

Standing up and extending her hand again, Joanne smiled. "Thanks Mrs. O'Donnell."

"You're welcome Joanne."

--

"19-42-37." Alex muttered, spinning the lock around. After a few attempts she roughly opened the lock and hung her jacket up. "First class…History. Room 102." She studied the room numbers until she came up to the right room. Students were already filing in, everyone grabbing a seat.

"You must be Alexandria." A tall middle-aged man approached her. "I'm Mr. McVegh, I'll be your history teacher."

"Alex." She looked around the room, her blue eyes darting around the room nervously.

He smiled gently. "Nice to meet you, now…you can grab a seat right over there…by Mister Helm. Darren, please wave."

A blonde boy looked up from his textbook and gave a small wave.

"Thanks. I'll just put my books there and grab a drink…is that okay?" Alex asked timidly looking up through her lashes.

"Of course, class doesn't start for another 10 minutes. Take your time." The teacher smiled at the teen as she placed her stuff on the desk and sauntered out of the room.

"Wow, what a dimepiece." Kris Russell commented as he watched Alex leave the room. "That girl is hot. And an ass to die for to boot."

Darren glared at his friend. "Don't be an ass, Russ."

"Don't be a faggot, Helmer." Kris replied with a smirk.

"How many times do I have to tell you assface, I'm not gay. I just don't see the point of treating girls like they're objects." Darren sighed and went back to reading his textbook. He had four sisters and he knew that if he said anything degrading towards women they would kill him. And not think twice. Well, they would….and then do it anyway.

"Whatever." Kris leaned back in his desk and watched as Alex walked back in the room. "Watch this Helmer, this is the way it's done." He smiled at Alex when she sat down. "Are you okay?"

She gave him a confused look. "Pardon?"

"It must have hurt when you fell from heaven." He grinned, his dark eyes dancing.

"You have GOT to be kidding me." Alex rolled her eyes and turned to face the smaller teen. "Don't."

Kris shrugged. "I tried. I'm going to chat with Devyn before class." He got up and walked across the room.

"I apologize for him." Darren smiled softly. "I'm Darren Helm."

"Alex Jefferson." She looked the blonde boy up and down. He was average height, about 6'0 with a slight build. His hair was so blonde it was almost transparent, his blue eyes so bright that they seemed to burn into your soul.

"Nice you meet you Alex." He gave her a small smile. "If you have any questions…I can probably answer them." Waiting for an answer, and receiving none he continued. "What class do you have next?"

"Theory of knowledge. AP English and Literature. Lunch. Math11E. Astrophysics. International Relations." She handed him her schedule and shrugged.

"You have GOT to be kidding me." The smile spread across his face. "You're taking the same course load as me! What are the chances?"

"Yeah, what are the chances?" A flicker of a smile crossed her face. There was something about the boy that made her smile.

"Well, if you want…we can walk to TOK together…if you want." His voice was soft with the slightest trace of some sort of accent.

"How 'bout I get through history first." She looked at the notes on the board. "If I survive, we'll talk."

He grinned, his blue eyes dancing. "Deal."


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: Again, I don't own them. Wish I did though. I do own the DVD and ticket stubs!**

"So you survived?" Darren asked coming up beside Alex, his arms full of books.

"Barely." Alex adjusted her backpack and gave the boy a small smile. "I thought I was going to die in astrophysics. I was seriously contemplating suicide."

"Death by Assphysics?" He joked.

"Pretty much. That man is insane. I can't believe you answered all of his questions." They walked out into the courtyard, watching the cars and busses gather in front of the school.

Darren shrugged. "It's one of my better classes actually. Can't say that Mr. Brooks helps any, but it's something I get. It's concrete. Nothing changes."

They stood in silence as people milled around them. A silver car caught her eye. "Hey, that's my ride. I'll see you tomorrow?"

He nodded and watched her jog to the car. Darren was a shy kid who would rather blend into the background than stand out in the crowd. His voice was quiet, almost a whisper when he spoke. Thick blonde lashes framed his blue eyes, not that you could see them since they were almost transparent. He had two true loves. Hockey and math. Both, he hoped would take him far away from alphabet city.

Alex slipped into the car and threw her backpack into the back seat.

"So, how was the first day?"

"Okay. Not dead, so I guess that's a positive." A trace of a smile crossed her face.

"Meet anyone?"

"A few in my classes." She lied, her face turning red. Her eyes searched the courtyard for Darren who was still standing in the same spot, a far away look on his face. She smiled and tried to keep from looking at her sister.

"Oh. Well…how are your classes?"

"S'okay. A few are different than what I took at Westover, but I should be able to catch up." She felt the blush leaving her face and turned to her sister. "What're we doing for supper?"

:"Are you up for going to Life with the rest of the crew?" Joanne asked pulling out of the parking spot.

"I guess. I have a lot of homework to do. Especially in astrophysics and Theory of Knowledge. Assphysics may be the death of me. Death by assphysics."

"Assphysics?"

"Yeah…it's what Da-…" She stopped and cleared her throat. "A kid in class called it. It seemed to fit."

"I told everyone we'd meet them there around 6ish. It should give us enough time to go to the office and pick up a file I forgot, swing home and pick up Maureen and still make it there in time."

Alex nodded. "Okay." She brushed her hair out of her face and watched as the school quickly faded from sight. They sat in relative silence until Joanne pulled up to a skyscraper.

"Want to come up?" Joanne put the car park and shut off the engine.

"Sure." The walked into the building, Joanne flashing her ID to the bored looking security guard. 35 floors later, they walked into Joanne's office. "Impressive." Alex looked around the room, the large glass windows, the very expensive cherry wood desk, the leather chairs. Her eyes fell on the pictures adorning Joanne's desk. One of Joanne and Maureen, Joanne's head leaning on the brunette's shoulder, a smile on both of their faces. One of the group, Mimi hugging Roger's middle, Roger grinning his free arm slung around Mark's shoulder. Collins and Angel sharing a smile, their arms around the shoulders of Maureen and Joanne. And finally, a picture, slightly frayed at the edges, but in the prettiest frame sat in the middle. A teenaged Joanne, her hair longer, her face younger sat with a chubby toddler on her knee. Alex. The look of love and adoration was obvious on the face of the young Alex, the look of pride and happiness sketched on Joanne's. "Where did you get this?"

Joanne walked up behind her and smiled. "Before I left for college. I took it along with me and had it on my wall all the way through." Her voice dropped a few decibels. "See, I didn't forget about you." She ran a finger over the picture. "You came with me to Harvard…you got me through my first trial."

"No one ever told me." Alex replied, her eyes full of confusion. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I'm not sure." Joanne confessed. "I was in awe of you. You were so young, but so full of life. Mom and Daddy wanted me to be a lawyer, so I became a lawyer. They told you not to draw on the walls…so you wrote cuss words instead. You didn't care what anyone thought."

Alex sat on the edge of Joanne's desk and gave her sister a smile. "Well, did Mom and Dad want you to be a lesbian?"

Rolling her dark eyes, Joanne pulled her file out of the cabinet and shook her head. "You know the answer to that. Let's go before Maureen thinks we forgot about her."

--

"The chicken quesadilla. With a coke please." Alex looked up from her textbook and gave a small smile to the waiter.

"No wine or beer?" He asked, motioning to the drinks on the table.

"I'm 16." She retorted, rolling her eyes and going back to reading. After a few minutes of seeing her struggle, her eyes darting between her calculator and her notebook, a frustrated look on her face, Collins slid his chair over closer to her.

"Whatcha working on there?" He took a long drag of his cigarette and leaned over to read her book. "Astro physics and Theory on knowledge? Damn girl, you don't take a break do you?"

"Ass physics. It's going to fuck me so badly." She moaned and laid her head on the book. The group laughed as she covered the back of her head with her hands and flipped them off.

Collins pulled the book from under her head and flipped through it. "Sorry, I can help you with your other stuff...but assphysics. I can't do none of that." That achieved a huge roar from the group.

"Sure you can't." Roger chortled wiggling his eyebrows. "You know NOTHING about ass."

Alex moaned again, this time louder, barely lifting her head off the table. "Gross." Their food and drinks arrived, the conversation moving to a dull murmur.

"She seems to be adjusting okay." Mark commented watching as Collins walked Alex through a philosophical question on self-actualization.

Joanne smiled. "I really hope so."

"She seems like a smart kid." Angel gave a motherly smile as a look of understanding crossed Alex's face. "I see a lot of you in her Joanne."

Joanne just shrugged, but everyone could tell she was brimming with pride.

--

"Thanks for supper, Jo." Alex shrugged her coat off and hung it up in the closet. "And thanks for getting Collins to help me with my TOK stuff."

"No problem."

"I'm gonna head to my room. I still have a few things to do before class tomorrow." She gave Joanne a short hug and smiled at Maureen before quickly heading to her own room.

"You're so good with her." Maureen said, running her hands through Joanne's corkscrew curls. "You'd make such an awesome Mom." Her lips were quickly on Joanne's mocha skin, leaving a trail of slightly smudged red lipstick.

"Maureen…" Joanne tried, though her voice coming out soft and thick with lust. "Maureen we can't…"

"Why?" Maureen's breath was hot in her ear. "I want to make you feel good…"

"Al…Alex…she's in her room…"

"So?…" Her lips, tongue and teeth continued their assault, until they heard the sound of a door opening. They pulled apart and tried to straighten their mussed clothing.

"Hands at your sides! Child approaching." Alex warned with a slightly evil grin on her face. She grabbed a glass of water and started back to her room. "Okay…go back to doing whatever you were doing. I'll turn my music up…and for the love of God…make sure your bed is pulled away from the wall."

"ALEX!" Joanne tossed the nearest throwable object, Alex's shoe, at her sister.

"Good night." The teen grinned and shut her door. True to her word, her music could be heard from behind her closed door.

"See, she even gave us permission!" Maureen batted her eyes at Joanne who was still shaking her head slightly, her face tinged with pink. "Come on Pookie, let's go to bed."

Hours later, they lay in bed, ebony and ivory fingers interwoven, each tracing patterns on slick skin.

"Jo?"

"Mmm?" Joanne rolled over, her curls sticking to her still damp forehead.

"What I said, earlier, about you being a great Mom…I meant it." Maureen smiled and snuggled in closer.

--

They awoke to the sounds of pots and pans being banged around and a few choice swear words. "Doesn't she know the meaning of QUIET?" Maureen moaned, hiding her head under her pillow. Joanne laughed, pulling herself out of bed. She threw on a pair of sweats and tshirt and went to investigate.

"What are you looking for?"

"Coffee. Good." Alex's voice was muffled with her head inside the cupboard. She emerged a triumphant smile on her face. "Found it. Knew that I had my good coffee somewhere." Holding a silver package over her head she jumped off the counter and skipped towards the coffee maker.

"What's that?"

"Coffee from Mexico. I scored it when I was taking a summer class down there." She grinned and ripped the package open with her teeth. The aroma of strong coffee filled the kitchen. "Best coffee evaaaaaaaaaaaaaar." She sang, her eyes glued to the coffee maker. The dark liquid dripped into the pot slowly, the aroma getting even stronger. Finally the pot was full, and Alex pulled out two mugs and poured them full.

"Coffee coffee coffee." Alex grinned and took a sip of the steaming brew. "Coffee. Good."

Joanne snickered and took a small sip. The dark rich flavour filled her mouth. "Okay, I admit it. That is good."

"Told you." Alex grinned and ran her hands her hands through her damp hair and jumped up on the counter. She was dressed in a pair of dark jeans and a yellow polo shirt.

"You're really happy in the morning." Joanne yawned and looked at her watch. "It's just six."

"I know." But I know you have to be at work by 8am, so I figured, get an early start on the day. Plus I have some stuff to finish." She raced off to her room, sliding on socks into her bedroom. "HI MAUREEN!"

Joanne bit back a laugh as Alex rushed back into the kitchen, her backpack in hand. Maureen hated anything and everyone before 10am. Though, this new, happy Alex was contagious.

"Can I ask you a question?" Alex took a sip of her coffee and looked up from her books.

"Shoot."

"Can I head to school early today? I want someone to check over some work before class."

"Sure. I'll drop you off and head into the office earlier."

--

He hurried to get dressed, before anyone else even thought about waking up. Stepping over bodies, some covered with day old filth, others with track marks. He was going to get out of here as soon as possible. That was his mantra. "Stay in school. Stay in hockey. Get out alive." He was funded through Kid sport to play hockey, he was the only one who knew. All of his friends at Hunter, while they we're rich, were a lot better off than he was. He always told them that he ate a huge breakfast and didn't eat lunch, not that he couldn't afford it. Closing the door quietly behind him, he took the stairs two by two and left his decrepit building. He always got to school early, it gave him time to finish his homework he didn't get to that night, usually because he had to take care of his baby brother, who wasn't even his real brother. Really, none of his sisters were his real sisters either. He couldn't keep track of his mother's boyfriends. They came in quickly and left even faster, usually in a drugged out haze. Which left him to clean up the mess. It took him forty-five minutes to get to school, one subway and two buses later, he flipped his book open and started to fly through the questions.

Alex's voice startled him so badly he hit his knee on the edge of the picnic table he was at. "Don't you believe in footsteps?" He grumbled looking at her with a look of confusion on his face. "School doesn't start for another hour. What'cha doing here?"

She shrugged and placed a coffee in front of him. "Woke up early, decided to head down. You said you were always here first thing, so I tried my luck." Darren watched her as she sat down with unexplainable grace and nodded towards the coffee. He had a feeling in his chest, nothing that he had ever felt before when he looked at her. Her caramel skin, her bright eyes, the dimples he didn't know she had until she smile. "Are you always this much of a spacecadet?" She asked playfully. Darren glared and took the coffee.

"Long night." He said without explaining further, and thankfully she didn't ask. "Thanks for the coffee."

"No problem." Alex opened her book and started going over a few of the problems.

"Alex?"

She looked up, a pen in her mouth. "Hmmm?"

"How are you getting home tonight?"

"My sister said she'd pick me up. Why?"

He shrugged. "No real reason. Just wanted to know…if you know…if you wanted to check out some of New York. I mean, we could take the Subway. I could show you how to get home…and we could check out maybe Central Park?"

"Are you asking me out Darren?" She grinned, her blue eyes dancing.

"Uh…what if I was?" He chewed on his lower lip nervously. "What would you say?"

"If you were, I'd probably say okay."

"Then I am."

"Sure. I'll call Jo." Alex grinned and gathered her books. "The bell is going to ring pretty soon. We should probably head in."

"Let me." He took the books from her arms and held the door to the school open.

"Thanks. I'll call Joanne and see what she says about me taking the Subway back today. She's still in the overprotective sister mode." Alex made a beeline for the office, Darren in tow.

**Like it? Love it? Hate it? **


	7. Chapter 7

"Joanne Jefferson speaking."

"Hey Jo, it's Alex." Joanne smiled at the sound of her younger sister's voice. "You don't have to pick me up today after school. I have a few things to do, and…I have someone who said they were willing to show me the subway system."

"Umm…sure, I guess. What time are you planning on getting back?"

"6ish sound okay?"

"Sure, be careful."

"Will. Thanks Jo." Alex hung up the phone and skipped towards Darren who was leaning against her locker. "She said I have till about 6pm. Think we can do the tour in that time?"

Darren gave her a soft half smile. "Think we can manage."

--

"Just like old times." Maureen stole a kiss from Joanne, who smiled and ran her hands over Maureen's thigh. "See, all of us together."

Mark smiled and grabbed a fry off of Roger's plate. "No rugrat. Where is Alex anyway?"

"She said that someone is going to show her around town, how to use the subway system. I didn't want to tell her no, let her have some independence." Joanne shrugged and took a swallow of her beer. "Teenagers need their independence, right?"

Angel nodded. "Right sweetie. You're doing the right thing. It's not like she's going to be out all hours of the night. Right?"

"I said just until 6ish. That gives them about 3 and a half hours." Joanne looked at her watch nervously. "Speaking of, we should head back so she doesn't come back to a totally empty house."

Lifting his hand, Collins waved at the girls. Maureen grinned and grabbed Joanne by the belt loops and put her hands in her back pockets.

"GET A ROOM!" Roger yelled, throwing a few fries at them.

"They're cute." Mimi sighed, leaning her head against Roger's shoulder. "They have their own little family now! Joanne, Maureen and Alex!"

--

"You've NEVER had a New York Hot Dog?" Darren asked Alex who wrinkled her nose at the food he held.

"No. You don't know what's in it! It could be roadkill! Or parts of a racoon! Or the intestines…or the mashed up eyeballs and guts!" She shook her head at him when he took a large bite.

"It's so good!" He grinned at her. "So what do you think of New York so far?"

"It's okay. I've been here before of course, but more of a 'hey, you're on vacation!' type of thing." She shrugged and pulled the collar up around her ears. "Though, having someone show me the ropes of the city is nice though. So where do you live? Around here?"

Darren swallowed hard. "Not too far. Do you at least eat soft pretzels?" He motioned to the pretzel stand nearby.

"Never had one before."

He ran over and bought a large one and handed it to her. "Your first real New York street food." She picked at it, pulling a piece off and popping it in her mouth.

"For street food, it's pretty good." Flashing him a grin, she pulled off another piece and placed it near his lips. "Here, try a piece."

He blushed, but allowed her to place the piece of pretzel in his mouth. "You're right. It is good." A shiver ran through Alex as a gust of cold fall wind blew across them. "You okay?"

She nodded. "Yeah, just forgetting that it's fall." Darren smiled at her and pulled his brimmed beanie off his head and placed it on top of her curls. Cocking it slightly to the side and wrapping his black scarf around her neck he grinned.

"There, you're now 'New Yorkized." Darren smiled and looked back at his handiwork. The beanie was close to falling over her eyes, the scarf hanging below her knees. But she looked beautiful, her dark caramel skin tinged with the slightest of pink, her upturned nose spattered with a handful of freckles, her blue eyes dancing.

"I'm a real New Yorker?" She asked, putting on a thick New York accent.

"Well, close enough. We'll still have to work on you." He grinned, feeling warm despite the weather. With an uncharacteristic rush of boldness he reached out and took her hand in his. He waited for her to pull away...but she never did.

--

"Where is she?"

Maureen looked up from the fashion magazine she was flipping through and pulled the lawyer down on the couch with her. "Probably out, getting acquainted with New York City." She caught the glare that Joanne threw her and shrugged. "I'm sure she's fine. Come here." Pulling the lawyer onto the couch she ran her hands over her body. "Come on Pookie, relax."

"She's late." Joanne countered, leaning against Maureen. "She said she'd be here around six."

"It's only 6:20. I'm sure she's on her way." Maureen said, tangling her fingers in her lover's tight curls. "You know you worry too much." Her voice was hot in Joanne 's ear. "You're too tense." Kisses followed, some of the aforementioned tension leaving her body.

"I'm a lawyer...I'm supposed to be tense." Joanne mumbled as Maureen's fingers and lips working their magic on her skin.

"Not like this." Maureen mumbled. "No one is supposed to be this tense."

A soft moan escaped Joanne's lips. "You have magic fingers Honey Bear." Her dark eyes closing, the slight feeling of euphoria washing over her.

"Just relax Pookie." Maureen whispered in her ear.

"Bu..t…Alex…"

"I'll keep an eye out for her."

--

"So, why'd you move here anyway?" Darren asked, sitting down on the bus seat beside her.

"My parents…they were in a car accident…" She shrugged and let her voice trail off. "So I'm living here with my sister." Trying to avoid his piercing gaze, she looked out the window as the buildings flew by.

"I'm sorry Alex, I didn't know." He said softly. No matter how much he was embarrassed by his family, he at least had them.

"I know." Her voice came out barely above a whisper. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders, allowing her to lean her head down.

"If there's anything…." He looked down at his watch. "Hey…what time did you tell your sister you'd be home?"

"Around six…why?"

He chuckled. "It's past six thirty."

"Shit." Pulling her head off his shoulder, she shook her head. "Joanne is going to FLIP!"

"Hey, calm down. We're the next stop. I'll walk you to your building." Darren pulled her up and pulled the stop cord. They walked quickly towards the apartment building. "Sorry I made you late."

"S'okay. I'll live. Thanks for showing me around." She started to take off his beanie and scarf. He held up his hand.

"No, you keep it. I'll get it back later." He smiled and gave her hand a quick squeeze. "See you at school tomorrow?"

"Yeah. Same time, same place?"

"How bout I meet you here?" He trotted off in the opposite direction to catch the bus. "See you Alex."

"Bye Darren." She called, watching his slim frame disappear into the crowd. Gathering all of her strength she took the stairs to the apartment, two by two, and quietly slipped in. Joanne and Maureen were sitting cuddled under a blanket watching TV. Deciding to face the music instead of sneaking to her room she walked towards them. "Sorry I'm late. We…lost track of time." She stared at the floor and waited for Joanne to explode. Instead she heard a deep sigh.

"It's okay. Just…try to keep better track of time next time. Okay?"

Alex looked up and stared at her sister and gave a sheepish smile. "Yeah…okay."

Maureen smiled at Alex and patted the spot beside her. "So, how was your tour of New York?"

Settling on the far side of the couch, she pulled her feet up under her. "It was good. We went to Central Park, and I got shown the subway and bus system."

"Cute guy or cute girl?" Maureen asked, her eyes flashing mischievously. Joanne slapped her leg as Alex blushed.

"Let the girl be."

"Come on Jo. You know you want to know. Cute guy or girl?" She repeated ignoring Joanne.

"I'm going to bed now." Alex tried to escape from the interrogation.

"We'd be okay either way!" Maureen called as Alex jumped over the back of the couch. Watching the teen escape and shut her door, Maureen turned back to Joanne. "So, boy or girl?"

"What?"

"Is she gay or straight?"

"I am NOT having this conversation with you." Joanne rolled her eyes and shoved her girlfriend to the corner of the couch. "She's my sister."

"I say she's straight." Maureen giggled crawling back towards Joanne.

"You're a dork."

"But you love me anyway." She threw herself on the lawyer, smothering her.

"Yes I do…but get OFF me!" Joanne squealed, feeling the diva's fingers tickling her.

They collapsed into a fit of giggles as their bodies hit the floor.

--

It was earlier than he normally woke up, but he had to change buses twice along with taking the subway to get to Alex's. Turning on the shower, waiting until the water ran clear, he hopped in, quickly washing his hair.

"What the fuck are you doing?"

He stuck his head out of the shower to see one of his sisters, Naomi, makeup caked on her face, her breasts almost falling out of her dress, glaring at him.

"Showering. Get out of here you pervert." He pulled the curtain shut and waited until her heard her leave. Throwing on his clothes, he grabbed his bag and headed for the door.

"What're you doing, leaving so fucking early?" A cigarette hung from her lips, a smirk on her face.

"Going to school." He muttered, trying to get out of the small apartment.

"Why do you even bother? You're gonna be a nobody, just like the rest of us. You think you're so much fucking better than we are, but guess what buddy boy. You're not. You're a fucking Helm and Helm's go fucking nowhere." She spat, the cigarette hanging loosely from her lips.

"Fuck you." He spat, slipping out into the cold hallway, avoiding the druggies in the hall. What a way to start a morning.

--

"You free this weekend?"

Alex sighed. "Saturday and Sunday I am, but not Friday night. My sister and her gang seem to think that it's a good idea to have a 'girl's night.' I blame Maureen and Mimi. It was their idea."

"Who're they?" He asked, watching as she took a small bite of her lunch. His stomach growled loudly.

"Just friends of my sister's." She gave him a strange look. "You hungry?"

"Nah." He looked away, trying to will his stomach to shut up.

"Here." Passing the fork to him she waited until he took a small bite. "Finish it. Want to split the rest?" She didn't pry but quickly split her food in half and piled it in front of him.

He smiled gratefully. "Thanks. Hey, want to meet at the library on Saturday? Say…1pm?"

She smiled back and grabbed a few of her carrots and popped them in her mouth.

--

"Do I **HAVE** to be here?" Alex padded out of her room in blue pyjama pants and a white tank top.

Maureen giggled. "Yes. It's a girl's night! You're a girl! So you HAVE to come. Mimi is going to be here right away. She's bringing wine. Angel said she'd stop by." Turning to Joanne who was wearing a pair of oversized sweatpants and a well-worn Harvard Tshirt she smiled. "Did you pick out some movies?"

"Breakfast at Tiffany's and the Breakfast Club, like you asked." Joanne flashed the boxes. "Come on Alex, it will be okay."

She rolled her eyes. "I went to an all girls school, we had girls nights. I hated them."

Throwing the door open, Mimi shook a bottle of wine at her. "THIS one will be different."

And she was right. Within a few hours, everyone, including Angel who lost her wig sometime during the night, were all giggling. With Alex easily being the drunkest of them all.

"So, you've NEVER kissed anyone before?" Mimi exclaimed waving her hands. "NEVER?"

Alex shrugged. "I went to an all girls school. So no." She gave Maureen a cock eyed smile. "So that answers your question, I'm straight."

"So you've NEVER had sex?" Maureen countered, ignoring Alex's previous comment.

Hiding her head in her arms, Alex moaned. "I don't feel so good." Her head was spinning, her stomach doing flips.

Mimi giggled. "Someone's DRUNK!"

Wobbling slightly, Alex stumbled to her room and waited until the room stopped spinning before she fell asleep.

"She's going to be messed up tomorrow." Maureen stated, pouring herself another drink.

Joanne sighed, peering into her sister's room. "Guys…this really wasn't a good idea. We got my sixteen year old sister drunk. She's underage. Shit guys." She rubbed her temples.

"Joanne, it will be fine." Angel gave her a soft hug.

"I hope so…"


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I don't own RENT or any of the characters that J. Larson created. I just take them out and torture them. But I do put them back!

--

Alex opened her eyes and tried to anchor herself to the floor, trying to stop the spinning room. When that didn't work, she stumbled into the washroom and clutched the toilet. She felt like shit. Her head hurt, the room was spinning and opening her eyes resulted in the feeling of wanting empty her stomach into the toilet. Which, she did repeatedly.

"You okay?" Mimi asked softly, the sound of retching waking her up.

"I'm dying." Alex moaned, covering her eyes with her arm. "Seriously, can I die from this? I think I am."

"No, you won't die. Hold on." Mimi tiptoed out of the washroom and filled up a glass of water and returned to pass it to the teen. "Drink this. All of it."

"No. I'll just puke it up." Alex closed her eyes tight and prayed that the room would stop spinning.

"Trust me, drink it." She gently tipped the glass and watched as the youth swallowed it tentatively. "Do you want to try to go back to your bed?"

"Nu uh. I like the cold floor." Alex flopped backwards, grabbing a towel and covering herself with it.

"Okay…just yell if you need anything." Mimi shut off the light and tiptoed back to the couch. Lying there for a few minutes, she squinted and tried to read the clock on the wall. Nine fifty something. Early, but not too early for Joanne. Sneaking towards the master bedroom, she placed a soft knock on the door. After a few seconds, Joanne, her hair pulled back in a tight ponytail wearing an oversized pair of sweats and a sportsbra, opened the door.

"What?"

Mimi shrugged shyly. "Alex, she's puking her guts out in the washroom."

Grabbing a shirt from the drawer, Joanne followed Mimi to where Alex was still sprawled on the cold tile floor.

"Alex?" Joanne knelt down and pushed a few curls out of Alex's face.

"Jo…do you guys have a cat?" She seemed to be contemplating the taste of something and frowned.

"No…why?"

"It tastes like a cat shit in my mouth." Alex replied, springing up suddenly reaching for the toilet. Looking up, her blue eyes filled with tears, she tried to shake her head before another wave of nausea washed over her. "I am dying."

Swallowing a laugh, Joanne rubbed her sister's back. "You're not dying. It's a hangover."

"I know what this calls for!" Maureen emerged from the bedroom, the noises waking her up. "A fryup! That's the best for a hangover."

Alex looked at her warily. "I'm staying right here."

--

"No, you need to get some grease into your system." Maureen prodded.

The smell assaulted her senses, making her stomach do flips. Alex shook her head. "Not happening. I'm going to take a shower."

"But you need food." Angel reasoned, stabbing a piece of egg.

"Not that kind."

They heard the door slam and the water start.

"She'll be okay." Angel said with a soft smile. "It's her first hangover. No one's ever died from a hangover, right?"

"Right." Maureen replied, spearing a sausage.

"But people have died from alcohol poisoning." Joanne reasoned. "She's probably passed out in the shower." Hopping up, she banged on the shower door. "Are you okay?"

"Fine. Showering." Came the reply, albeit a bit muffled. About half an hour later and probably the whole building's hot water supply, Alex emerged from the washroom wearing a pair of black sweats and an oversized bright blue hooded sweatshirt. "I'm going to meet someone to study." She said softly, chugging a glass of water and blinking over her brightly rimmed glasses. "We'll just be at the library." She answered Joanne before she even had a chance to ask. "And I still feel like shit."

The door slammed as the teen grabbed her backpack and left the apartment.

"Well that went over well." Angel mused, drinking a glass of orange juice.

"She'll be fine." Maureen reasoned. "She's just hungover."

--

"Well you look like shit." Darren said as Alex sat down on the table beside him.

"Shut up." She closed her eyes and placed her head on her crossed arms. "I feel like shit."

"Rough night?" He joked, running his hand slowly through her hair, as if asking permission.

"Mmm hmmm." She mumbled. "Don't stop, that feels nice."

"I know the best remedy for a hangover." Darren said softly, pulling Alex up into a sitting position. "Come on, let's go. It will make you feel better." He pulled his toque further on her head. "Trust me."

Leading her out of the library, they walked a few blocks to the closest pharmacy where Darren pulled out a bottle of Pedalite. "Don't laugh, it works."

"Laughing hurts." She pulled her wallet out of her pocket and passed it to him. "Take whatever you need." Closing her eyes, she leaned heavily on Darren and smiled when he handed her the bottle.

"Take it slowly." He said softly, sitting them down on an empty bench.

Slowly, Alex began to feel human again. "Thanks."

"Feeling better?"

"Feeling human." She finished the last swallow and smiled. "Sorry I screwed up our study plans."

He grinned. "I have a 4.0 GPA. And last time I checked, so do you. Honestly, studying is just a smoke screen for me to spend time with you."

For once in her life, Alexandria Jefferson was speechless.

--

"You look better." Joanne smiled as Alex walked through the door.

"Yeah, I am. Remind me NEVER to drink again. Jesus Christ, I seriously thought that I puked up my spleen." She flopped on the couch, an entrance that impressed even Maureen who giggled and threw a pillow at the teen. "My life flashed before my eyes."

"Really?" Joanne walked AROUND the couch, and settled on the floor between Maureen's legs. "What did you find out?"

"I sleep. A lot.." A grin appearing from underneath the pillow. "True story."

Joanne groaned and rolled her eyes as Alex sat up, her eyes dancing. "How many hours do you even sleep?"

"Iunno…five." She looked up. "Reminds me, hockey tryouts start on Monday." Digging into the pocket of her bunnyhug, she retrieved, with a slightly victorious smile on her face, and passed it to Joanne.

"Five. AM? Tryouts start at FIVE?" Joanne stared at the sheet of paper, and then back at Alex who shrugged. "I didn't even realise that people got up to DO things at 5am."

"There's a five am?" Maureen asked, grabbing the piece of paper from Joanne. "Wow."

"Honeybear, the world doesn't start at 10am." Joanne laughed.

"So, can I get a ride to practice? It says I can leave my gear there and they have shuttles to the school…"

--

"Where are all the girls?" Joanne mumbled, as she watched teenaged boys enter the rink.

Alex shrugged and shouldered the bag. "Iunno, probably a double ice complex. Let's go. I want to talk to the coach before." Alex was skipping up the stairs, early mornings obviously not fazing her. Joanne was another story. Wearing her outfit for the day, a dark pinstriped suit, she blinked hard, trying to clear her eyes. It was earlier than she had ever gotten up, boarding 4am. Sighing, she followed Alex into the rink.

"What do you mean I can't try out?" Alex glared at the middle aged man who just shrugged.

"Boys team, not girls."

"It DOESN'T say that." She looked helplessly at Joanne. "It didn't say that." Looking around at the kids who were dragging their bags in, trying really hard not to look like they were watching and listening, she waved at them. "I'm probably better than 90% of the kids here!"

Joanne placed a hand on her sister's shoulder. "I'm Joanne Jefferson, Alex's guardian. I read the tryout form, which we filled out, and it said nothing about this being a boy's only team."

"Well, we've never had a girl tryout for the hockey team." The coach tried to backtrack.

"Then it's settled." Joanne smiled and passed the coach her card.

--

"Who's the pipsqueak?" Kris asked, pushing his helmet further up on his head. "Gotta be some ninth grader. How big is he? Like 5'6?" He scoffed and watched as the kid skated quickly, almost like the skates never touched the ice. "Okay, he's fast. But probably can't skate with the puck."

Darren rolled his eyes and leaned forward on his stick. "Give the kid a break." He watched as the kid skated by and stopped in front of them. The kid's helmet was quickly unclipped, a familiar face underneath it. "ALEX?"

She grinned, shaking her head and allowing her hair to fall free. "Hey. Figured I'd give this hockey thing a try."

"This is a GUYS team." Kris stuttered, looking between his best friend and Alex. "You can't play."

"Sure I can. Doesn't say anything in the rules." She grinned and pulled her hair back and replaced her helmet.

"Shit, dude, she's a girl." Kris whined, watching as Alex sped around the rink.

"One helluva girl." Darren replied with a grin, replacing his own helmet.

--

"I'm open! I'm open!" Alex yelled, banging her stick against the ice. She was beginning to get frustrated. She had received one pass all practice. The player passed the puck into double coverage, giving it away to the opposition. "SHIT." Skating as fast as she can, she caught up to the puck carrier and bumped him off, and tore back the opposite way. Her feet flying, her hands deftly carrying the puck up the ice, she flipped the puck through the defenseman's feet and followed it in. She was alone. Just her and the puck. Everything seemed to move in slow motion; the puck shot so skilfully it knocked the water bottle off the top of the net. She quickly made her way back to the bench and sat down.

"Nice shot Jefferson."

She scowled. "If people passed, we wouldn't be down 3-1."

"Okay, Jefferson. I want you on Helm's left wing." The coach said, tapping her on the shoulder. "Stevens, you take the right wing. I want to see some GOALS people!"

Darren grinned and stood up, allowing Alex to slide farther down on the bench. Chris Stevens, the other winger glared at her seeing his best friend Nathan bumped off his line. "Better not fuck us up, girlie." He hissed as she walked by…

--

"So how did she do?"

Joanne shrugged. "I don't know. She looked good, but I don't know enough about the sport to be able to form an opinion either way."

"Either she was good or she wasn't." Maureen stated simply, wrapping the lawyer in a hug.

"She was good." Alex replied with a grin, walking into the kitchen. Joanne and Maureen pulled apart quickly. "Whatever, as long as you two are clothed and don't have your tongues down each other's throats…" Alex rummaged through the fridge and pulled out a bottle of juice and smiled. "I made the first round of cuts."

"That's great!" Maureen grinned. "It's like a call back!"

"Sure." Alex shrugged. "Still have a week worth of tryouts, but, it's the first step. Hey, Saturday can I go out and catch a move with Darre—"

"With who?" Joanne asked, cocking her head to the side, shooting a confused look to her sister.

"Darren. He's a guy who's in my classes…and he plays hockey." She shrugged. "So, can I?"

"I think that we should meet this boy before things move any farther along." Joanne said slowly, gauging her sister's reaction. "I trust you, but I would just feel better if we met the boy."

Alex frowned. "Okay, but…don't…" She waved her hands. "Do anything. Be NORMAL."

Maureen giggled and placed her hands on her hips. "Excuse me girlie, we ARE normal."

"Far from it." Alex retorted, flipping the empty bottle into the trash. "Far from it."

--


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: As before, I don't own RENT. Or the characters. I just play with them from time to time.

**A/N: I got asked about my English. No, it is not my first language, nor is it the language I speak at home. I grew up speaking French, went to an English private school starting in the 9****th**** year, after spending earlier moving from school to school seeing as my father was in the military. Now, I speak English and French for work, but I am dating a Spanish Italian so we speak both of those at home. Confuse anyone else? Also, I would like to thank everyone for the wonderful feedback and reviews. It makes writing a lot easier. My language barrier is also the reason it tends to take me forever to finish a chapter.**

**Anyway, enough rambling.**

**--**

"What're you doing looking so fancy dancy?"

Darren looked in the mirror at his mother who was leaning nonchalantly against the doorframe of the bathroom, a bottle in her right hand, and a joint in her left.

"I'm going out to meet Alex's family. I TOLD you that." He said, wiping his hands on the front of his khakis.

"She's a nigger." His sister Erin said with a smirk. "I saw 'em. They were on the bus together. She was wearing all these fancy clothes, and she kept buying stuff. She's ain't just a nigger, she's a rich nigger."

Darren swallowed hard, trying to keep his temper at bay. "I'll be back later." Trying to step around his mother. But she put her arm out to stop him.

"What's this, she's rich?" Her lips curled in a sneer. "You think you're so damn good don't you? Get yourself a rich girl and leave." He flinched, knowing what was coming next. The smack echoed through the tiny apartment, the taste of blood filling his mouth. "You'll never get out of here alive. You're nothing. You'll die here, just like the rest of us."

Grabbing his jacket, Darren walked out, the blood still filling his mouth from his now cut lip. But she was right. The way he was going, he wouldn't get out of there alive.

--

"Why do you ALL have to be here?" Alex whined, throwing herself on the couch.

"Because we're family." Angel said simply. He gave her a supportive smile, dressing out of drag for the occasion, at Joanne's request. Usually she wouldn't ask, but with Alex panicking every step of the way, it seemed easier, and Angel, being Angel, had no issues with it.

"We want to make sure that the boy is a good boy." Collins said, puffing out his chest. "Right Roger? Mark?"

The other two nodded. "Yeah, we want to protect you." Roger replied giving Alex a grin.

"If that boy tries anything…I know how those teenaged boys act and think…" Collins warned. "We're the interrogators. Me and Davis, we're the bad cops. Mark, he's the good cop…"

"JOANNE!!!!!!!!" Alex screamed, running towards her sister. She was about half a second from a complete teenaged girl meltdown, which wouldn't help anyone. "Make them stop! Make them promise not to harass him!" Her eyes were filled with panic, her round face screwed up into a pitiful frown. "Please?"

"Roger, behave." Mimi chastised him, smacking him gently on the head. "Can't you see the girl is freaking out enough?"

"You too Thomas." Angel warned, shooting Collins a look that made the large black man shut up and look away guiltily.

"They'll behave." Joanne said, wiping her hands on a dishtowel and putting her arm around her sister. "I'll make sure of it."

Wiping her eyes on her sleeve she nodded. "Okay." The door buzzer went off, causing Alex to jump and trip over her own two feet. "Shit! He's here!" She struggled to untangle herself from her long-sleeved sweater she had left on the floor and had weaved it's way around her legs. Angel chuckled softly before leaning down and pulling the shirt out from between her feet and placed it on the arm couch. Maureen laughed and skipped to the buzzer. "Who is it?" She sang.

"Umm…it's Darren. Darren Helm. I-I'm here to m-meet…Alex." A young voice that cracked in the middle came through the speaker.

"Come on up!" Maureen pressed the button and smiled at Alex who was already on her way to the door. "Remember when we were that nervous, Pookie?"" She grabbed Joanne's hand and kissed it softly. "I was that nervous our first date."

"Awww…really Honeybear?" Joanne smiled and leaned in to give her girlfriend quick kiss, smiling sheepishly at Alex. "Last one, I swear."

Alex glared, but recovered in enough time to make it to the door as they heard a soft knock. She opened it and smiled shyly at the boy who stood in the doorway. Darren was wearing a black polo shirt, covered by jacket far too light for the weather, a pair of khakis and a beanie and scarf he had replaced after telling Alex to keep his other one.

"Hey, come on in." Maureen and Joanne exchanged looks at the demeanour change of the girl. Her voice was softer, gentler. Darren smiled and pulled his hand from behind his back revealing four roses, three pink and one white. Shyly he passed the three pink roses to the three women and lastly gave the white one to Alex.

"Aww…he's so sweet!" Mimi cooed, showing the rose to Roger who rolled his eyes.

Darren blushed at the compliment and looked around nervously. "It's nothing."

Joanne extended her free hand. "Hi, I'm Joanne Jefferson, Alex's sister. It's nice to meet you Darren. Let me hang up your coat and your hat."

"Pleasure to meet you Joanne." Darren smiled nervously, slipping out of his jacket. "You have a gorgeous apartment."

"And so polite!" Angel gushed. "Why don't you introduce all of us Alex?" He prodded, looking at the girl who was still staring at the rose in her hand.

"Uh, yeah…right. Sorry." She smiled and quickly rattled off the names. "This is Angel, Roger, Mark, Mimi, Collins, Maureen and you met Joanne. 'veryone this is Darren." Had she been any fairer, Alex would have resembled a tomato. She blushed, turning a deep shade of red.

Collins extended his hand. "Nice to meet you son." He said, examining the boy from head to toe with his eyes.

"And you, sir. Alex has said a lot about you. You're a philosophy professor, correct?" Darren said, turning to Collins who looked stunned.

"Yeah…" Shrugging he looked at Joanne who smiled. Everyone in the room, except Alex and Darren, knew Joanne was keeping score. Anything below a 5 Joanne would try her hardest to end the relationship. Though, at the moment, Darren already had one point.

"Grab a seat Darren." Maureen offered. "Would you like anything to drink? Beer? Wine? Water? Soda?"

"Just water please." Darren smiled at the brunet who nodded. She gave Joanne a look behind his back and grinned. 2.

Alex sat beside Darren, though there was enough space between them to fit a rather large person. "Thanks for the rose." She whispered, flashing him a smile.

"So Darren, what are your future goals?" Joanne asked, eliciting a groan from Alex who shook her head and glared at her sister.

"You don't have to answer that Darren." She said, trying to meet her sister's eye.

"Oh, I don't mind." He smiled sweetly at the lawyer. "Actually, there are a few things I'm interested in. I'd like to have hockey take me as far as I can, hopefully a scholarship to a good school. I'm interested in government policies and law, specifically how it pertains to those in a lower socio economic class…though I would love to get into the Harvard aeronautical engineering program."

Collins whistled. "So kid, you want to be a rocket scientist?"

"Or a lawyer?" Joanne interjected. Three. And four. She mentally tallied. The boy was beating her system before even sitting down at the dinner table.

Alex grinned triumphantly at them, knowing that Darren was winning them over.

--

"Pardon?"

Alex started choking on her pasta, wheezing loudly, eyes filling up with tears. She waved Darren away when he tried to help her, glaring at anyone that would look at her.

"What do you think of same-sex couples? You know, lesbians, gays, dykes, faggots…" Maureen repeated, avoiding Alex's glare of death.

Darren shrugged. "I don't." He chewed thoughtfully for a second before continuing. "I mean, people can't help who they are and who they fall in love with, right? Same if someone really poor fell in love with someone rich. They can't help who they are. If two guys want to love each other, who are we to say it's wrong? Same if two women love each other. And who knows, they could be the ones who are right, everyone else could be doing it wrong."

Ten points out of a possible ten. Joanne grinned and gently squeezed her sister's knee who started to breath again.

"Thank you for the wonderful dinner Joanne." Darren said. "It would only be right if I cleared the dishes after that great meal."

"It was just pasta, but thank you Darren." Joanne smirked. "Don't worry about the dishes."

Truthfully, it was the most Darren had eaten all week and his stomach ached from it, even though it was far less than anyone else at the table had eaten. Even with the lunches Alex shared with him, it was plain as day to anyone that Darren was skinny. Unhealthily so.

Collins stood up. "Actually, before you guys leave for the movie, I was wondering if we – " he motioned to Roger and Mark, "could speak to Darren out on the balcony."

"Collins…" Alex warned. When he didn't make eye contact she switched her target to her sister. "Joanne…you PROMISED."

Putting a hand on her shoulder, Darren gave her a small smile. "Don't worry." He stood up and followed the three men out onto the balcony and shut the door behind them.

"If they do anything to him, I'm going to toss ALL of them over the edge." Alex threatened.

"They'll be fine." Joanne started to clear the table of the dishes. "Actually, I really like him Alex."

"So do I." Angel said softly. He had tried to keep out of the conversation as much as possible, but he felt a connection with the young boy, something he couldn't understand or explain. "He seems like a great kid."

"And he got us roses!" Mimi exclaimed, still excited over getting her rose.

Alex shrugged and looked out the window, trying to figure out what the men were saying on the balcony…

--

Collins pulled a cigarette package from his pocket and offered one to Mark, Roger and finally Darren, who shook his head and shoved his hands deep into his pockets. Taking a long drag from the cigarette, Collins looked at the teen. "Do you know why you're here, son?"

"No sir." Darren looked nervously at Roger who was leaning against the railing, blowing smoke rings into the air and then to Mark who looked just as nervous as he did. He waited until Collins turned and faced him.

"We know how teenaged boys work. We were there. If you do anything to hurt that girl in there, we'll come after you boy."

"Yeah, and we find her knocked up..." Roger warned stepping in, glowering at the teen who stared at them like they were crazy.

A thick silence wafted over them. Darren took a deep breath and looked at the three men. "Can I plead my case here?"

"Go ahead." Mark urged, looking at his two friends who still had their arms crossed across their chest.

"First of all, I understand and admire what you're doing. I realise that Alex has been through a lot and she's very lucky to have family like you to watch her back." Darren started, looking each one of them in the eyes.

"Oooh, he's good." Mark thought as the teen continued.

"I want you to understand that I would not do anything, ever, to hurt Alex, emotionally, physically or otherwise. I've never met anyone like Alex, and with all of my power, I will make sure that nothing ever happens to her." He gave a soft smile. "I know you're just thinking that I'm another teenaged boy, jonesing to get into her pants, but I'm not. There's so much more to Alex than just being female...she's smart, athletic, funny, caring, energetic...she has a smile that lights up a room..."

Cocking an eyebrow towards Roger, who just shrugged, Collins stamped out his cigarette. "I believe you...what about you guys?"

"Still say, if you screw with her, I'll mess you up." Roger said, yawning and putting out his cigarette. "Okay, let's go in. I'm cold."

--

"Thanks again for the meal Joanne, it was wonderful. And it was nice meeting all of you." Darren said, holding Alex's jacket so she could slip into it. "What time do you want Alex back?"

"Hey, Alex is right here!" She turned to her sister and gave her sideways glance. "Curfew time?"

"Well, since it's a weekend...midnight. But, if you need a ride or anything, give me a call. We'll be here, or at the loft." Joanne said as she watched Darren hold the door open.

"Okay...Bye." Alex called, slamming the door and grabbing Darren's hand. "I'm really sorry about that."

"Hey, no worries. It wasn't THAT bad. Though, Collins, yeah, he's kinda scary." Darren said, holding the door open and waiting until Alex passed through.

"What did you guys talk about?" Slipping her hand in his they walked down the cold street.

"Just that they would kick my ass if I hurt you." He smirked and gave her hand a squeeze. "Hey, don't frown, it was fine." Gently he lifted her face up with his hand. "I don't like it when you frown." His voice was soft, almost a whisper. "Can I ask you a question? You can say no if you want..."

"Okay..."

"Can I kiss you?"

--

"So Jo, what did the boy get?" Collins asked, slumping on the couch.

"Pardon?"

"We know that you're keeping score, miss control freak Joanne Jefferson. So spill, what did he get for a point total?" Mimi giggled, sitting down on Roger's lap.

"Okay, so I was keeping score. And he got all possible points. Is that what you guys wanted to hear?" Joanne sat down beside Maureen and ran her hands through her chestnut curls. "I wanted to make sure that…"

"You approved." Angel supplied with a smile. "Do you approve?"

Joanne grinned. "I think he's a really nice kid. How about you guys? Did you scare him straight out there?"

"Tried!" Collins smiled and ran his hand over Angel's shortly cropped hair. "Trust me, I tried, but he seems like a genuine kid."

--

"Maureen what ARE you doing?" Joanne called, seeing Maureen watching something grey and fuzzy on their TV.

"Nothing." She smiled and grabbed Joanne's hand. "Want to see something really cute?"

Squinting, Joanne looked at the TV. "Is that…Alex and Darren?"

"Yep, aren't they CUTE!?" Maureen squealed. "They're downstairs in the lobby."

"You're CREEPING on them?"

"So? She's now part of MY family too." The brunette reasoned. "I just wanted to make sure that they didn't get carried away."

"And if they do?" Joanne pointed to the TV where Alex and Darren were attached by their lips.

"This!" Maureen leapt up and pressed the speaker to the buzzer. "Hey kids. Be safe! Wear a condom!" She yelled into it.

Alex jumped back and glared at the camera. Her mouth was moving at a fast clip, probably spewing every profanity known to man. Darren just smiled, gave a small wave to the camera and gave Alex a quick kiss on the cheek. She shook her head and flipped the camera off before hopping into the elevator. A few minutes later she opened the front door and stomped over to where Joanne and Maureen were sitting, giggling.

"Yeah, laugh it up chuckles." She threw her jacket on the two of them and went to her room. "You guys SUCK bye the way!"

"AND HOW!" Maureen retorted with a laugh. "That was a fun night, we should do this again."

"Yeah, hell will freeze over before THAT happens." Alex yelled, slamming her door.

"That went over well." Joanne sighed.

"She'll get over it."


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: See chapter 1.**

"She doesn't hate you." Joanne sighed and pulled Maureen into a tight hug. "She's just a teenaged girl. She hates pretty much everyone and everything. I think that's part of their job description." Kissing the top of her head, Joanne pulled her in a close hug. "Just talk about some of the stuff that she likes."

"But I'm not athletic. I don't know ANYTHING about hockey. And honestly, I didn't understand half of the stuff she said today at the debate tournament. She was a good speaker, really natural, but creating a modern slave class because of capitalism? Yeah, right over my head." Maureen laid her head on Joanne's bare chest, hearing her heartbeat, her favourite sound in the world.

"Well, maybe you guys can go shopping. Every girl likes to shop, right?" Joanne whispered, running her hands through Maureen's soft hair. "I have to work tomorrow, so maybe you guys can have a shopping day."

"Maybe. But she'll probably want to go to a book store…and buy a book on Thoreau, or whoever. And then probably to a sports store."

"Or she could want to go clothes shopping." Joanne reasoned. "Think about it."

"Okay. I'll think about it." Yawning, Maureen nestled into Joanne's chest. "Can you wake me up when you get up so I can ask before Alex before she takes off with Darren and we don't see her for 12 hours."

"I will." Joanne tried to shift away, though Maureen grabbed her and nestled in further. "No, stay here. I like to listen to your heartbeat…it helps me sleep."

--

"Freeze."

Alex sighed and stopped in her tracks. "What?"

"It's seven am. Where are you going?"

Spinning around, Alex threw her hands up. "Would you believe me if I said that I was going out for a run?"

"No, since you have said that running is just the most primitive form of self defense." Joanne cocked an eyebrow and tightened her tie. "You're sticking around here. Maureen wants to take you shopping."

Flopping on the couch, knowing that there was no use arguing, Alex sighed and looked up at Joanne. "I'm not waiting till 2 pm when Miss Drama Queen finally decides to grace us with her presence."

"Hey now. That's my girlfriend you're talking about." Joanne shot her a steely-eyed glare. "Maureen tries everything to be friends with you. You two are going to have to find a way to co-exist, because I'm not getting rid of either of you." She turned her back. "And I saw that."

Alex stopped making a face and grabbed the remote. "Fine, I'll go."

"Good. And you'll behave and you'll have fun." Joanne gave her sister a kiss on the top of her head. "I'll be back later. If you want you can invite Darren over for supper."

--

"Try this on."

Alex frowned at the shirt and held it up. "Maureen! My boobs are going to fall out of that thing."

"No it won't. Just try it on, and pair them with the jeans in there. Darren's coming over, right?"

"Yeah...but...Okay FINE." Alex took the shirt and stormed into the dressing room. She stared at the shirt and with a sigh, put it on over her camisole. She was right, her boobs were almost falling out of the shirt, but it did look good.

"How does it look?"

Alex threw the door open and Maureen clapped. "Yay! You look totally adorable. Okay, we'll get those. Hurry up and change into your other clothes because I have one more place I want to go." Shutting the door, Alex slipped her on her well-worn jeans and her hooded sweatshirt and passed the clothes to Maureen.

"You sure Joanne won't be upset we're buying all these clothes?"

"Nah, it comes from the Joanne-loves-me-fund." Maureen replied with a smirk. Passing a credit card to the teller she grabbed the young girl. "Last store, I promise. Then you can go pick up whatever books you wanted to grab."

"They're not JUST books." Alex said brushing her hair out of her face. "They're quite possibly the most important books written in the 20th century."

"Yeah yeah..." They stopped in front of a jewelry store. "Okay, I want your opinion on something." Maureen held the door open and ushered the teen in.

"Maureen..."

"Just shut up and tell me your opinion. I've narrowed it down to three rings. This one." She motioned to one ring, the diamond set in yellow gold. "This one." Another with a large square cut diamond. "And this one." A round cut diamond with an emerald and ruby intertwining on the white gold band. Alex looked at the three of them and turned back to Maureen.

"These are engagement rings, aren't they?" She asked softly. "You're going to propose to my sister, aren't you?"

Maureen smiled. "Yeah, I am. It's kind of why I wanted you here. I know that I don't your permission to propose to Joanne, but, I would really like your blessing, and I would really like your opinion. I know it means a lot to Joanne, and it means a lot to me."

Alex looked at Maureen silently, her blue ones burning into Maureen's hazel. "I like the last one. Especially since Joanne's birthstone is emerald, and I can guess that yours is ruby. It's really beautiful, and it brings the two of you together."

"I like it too." Maureen nodded and smiled. "Are you, okay with this?"

"I have no choice, do I?"

"Not really."

Shrugging, Alex gently fingered the jewelry. "You two are good together."

"Then why don't you like me?"

"Honestly?" Her voice was low and soft. "Because I don't want to share. I know it sounds selfish, but it's true. This is the first time that I have my sister, and actually have her. I can wake up in the morning and go 'Hey, Jo, want to go for coffee?' I can go to bed, knowing that she's there. She drives me to practice, she comes to watch my debates. And I don't want to share that. I thought that maybe if I was a bitch to you…you guys would break up and I'd have her attention all for myself."

Maureen's heart went out to the teen. She didn't hate her, she just loved Joanne so much that she was afraid of being pushed out of her life. "I understand, but I want to promise you that you'll never be pushed out of the family. Our family."

Wiping her eyes with the back of her sleeve, Alex nodded towards the ring. "Enough of this emotional crap. Get the ring and let's go."

--

"PIGG-AY BACK! PIGG-AY BACK!"

Joanne and Maureen walked down the street towards the Life Café, laughing as Darren bounced up and down. Alex and Darren had been arguing whether or not Alex was strong enough to carry Darren down the street on her shoulders. He was now on her back, his arms draped around her shoulder, laughing like a little boy.

"PIGG-AY BACK!" He cried laughing. "Okay, you can let me off anytime now. I believe you that you can give me a piggyback ride."

She stopped and let him get off. "Told you."

"Okay you two, cut it out, we're almost there." Joanne scolded with a smile. "No more pigg-ay back rides in the restaurant." She turned to Maureen who hadn't said anything their whole walk. "You okay Honeybear?'

"Y-yeah. Fine." Forcing a smile, she squeezed Joanne's hand. Alex smiled and kicked the back of Darren's leg, causing him to stumble. They fought and teased each other the whole way into Life.

"Hey, they've finally arrived!" Collins cheered when the four of them walked in. "Halleluiah! I was about to call a search party on you guys." He gave the three women a hug and gave a strong handshake to Darren. "Good to see you again Darren."

"Thank you sir." He smiled at the group, taking a short double take to Angel who was dressed in drag, but didn't say anything to her.

"You sure you're okay?" Joanne whispered to Maureen who was looking around the Café nervously.

"Yeah, let's just order." Her heart was pounding, her breathing coming quicker, her hands sweating and shaking. This was it. In five minutes, she was going to see if Joanne loved her the way SHE loved Joanne. The food arrived while she was in her own mental haze. Exchanging a smile with Alex, Maureen finally stood up and cleared her throat. "Excuse me…I have an announcement to make." She turned to Joanne. "Joanne Jefferson. I love you more than there are stars in the sky. I love you more than there are words to describe it. You are the Ying to my Yang. You keep me balanced and grounded." Taking a large breath she continued. "What I'm trying to say is…Joanne Jefferson…will you marry me?"

Joanne's dark eyes filled with tears. "Are you serious?"

Maureen passed the ring to Joanne. "I've never been more serious in my life."

"Yes. Yes I will marry you." Her grin stretched from one side of her face to the other. Maureen slipped the ring on her finger, placing a kiss on each of the mocha skinned beauty's knuckles., spending extra time kissing the shining rock that sparkled and winked at the rest of the group.

"Wow, did that just happen?" Roger inquired, watching Joanne and Maureen attached at the lips.

The rest of the table erupted in cheers. "Congrats!" Angel squealed wrapping Maureen in a tight hug. Mimi ran to Joanne, grabbing at her hand. "Let me see the ring! Let me see the ring!" She sang. Collins leaned back in his chair, a grin plastered on his face. Alex leaned her head on Darren's shoulder and hugged his chest tight, he draped an arm around her shoulder and smiled softly. Mark caught all of their reactions on tape.

"November 5th, 8PM Eastern Standard Time. As you can see Maureen and Joanne just got engaged!" He panned to Mimi who was holding Joanne's hand and raising it to the light. "Mimi seems to want to go home with Joanne…or at least her hand…"

"HEY! You know what they say. Diamonds are a girl's best friend!" Mimi exclaimed, still staring at the ring.

"It's amazing." Joanne agreed.

"Like you." Maureen whispered, coming up from behind and taking Joanne in a hug. "I love you Pookie."

Mark panned away from his two friends, Maureen having crawled onto Joanne's lap. "And here we see Alex and Darren." Alex rolled her eyes and gave a small wave to the camera. "How do you feel about Joanne getting married?"

"She could do worse." Alex yawned and looked at Joanne and Maureen who were making out in the corner. "This is going to be a loooooooooooooong night."

Darren smiled sympathetically and ran his hand through her hair. "Earplugs?"

"No, better idea." She turned to Mark and Roger who had moved to the other side of the table. "Hey guys, can I crash at the loft?" Nodding towards the engaged couple she gave a hopeful smile. "Please don't make me try to survive a night of…that."

Roger burst out laughing. "Okay, you can crash at the loft."

"Rock on." Alex grinned. "Hey Jo! Roger and Mark said it's okay if I crash at the loft. Can I?"

Joanne turned and looked at her sister, like she just remembered that she was along with them. "What was that?"

Alex rolled her eyes. "See, this is why I need to stay at the loft." She turned back to Joanne who still had a stunned look on her face. "Can I spend the night at the loft? You guys can do...whatever you guys do."

"Uh..." Joanne looked at Roger who had a smug smirk on his face, she was rarely caught unaware of her surroundings, in control of her emotions, her thoughts, everything. But now...that was all thrown out the window. "What was that?"

"Can. I. Stay. At. The. Loft?" Alex spoke slowly, enunciating each word slowly.

"Oh...but...you'll need clothes...and your books for school tomorrow..." Joanne stuttered, a blush rising to her face.

"Got it." Alex grinned as Darren held up a lumpy backpack. :"I think ahead."

"Wait... you KNEW?"

"Course I knew. So, I can stay there? Let you guys celebrate?" She punctuated the last word with a wrinkle of her small upturned nose and a squint of her blue eyes.

"If it's okay with Roger and Mark."

"They already AGREED to it." The teen rolled her eyes again. "That ring is making you lose all brain function!" She teased, her smile revealing her real feelings. "Can we head up to the loft, Mark?"

Mark looked around the table. "Sure, I'll go with you. I have to head in early to work anyway. You can stay in Collins's old room." He got up and looked around the table. "You guys behave now."

Collins waved his hand at them as they left.

--

"This is Collins's old room. I'll grab you a sleeping bag." Mark said, flicking on the light. "It's not much."

"Mark, really, I just want somewhere to crash where I don't have to hear my sister and her fiancée getting it on." Alex said throwing her bag on the bed and turning to Darren who was standing awkwardly in the doorframe. "What?"

"Nothing." He gave a smile and shoved his hands in his pockets. "You're beautiful, do you know that?" Part of him was still amazed that she spent her time with him.

"Shut up Darren." She retorted throwing her white tennis shoe at him. "You're incorrigible. And turn around. I want to change."

He chuckled. "I've seen you after practice in your sports bra…"

Alex rolled her eyes and threw on an oversized long sleeve shirt and a pair of hot pink pants. "Okay, I'm decent." She walked over to Darren. "Will you stay with me? I mean, until I fall asleep. I know Mark and Roger live here…but…it's kinda…"

"Are you scared? My little warrior? Scared?" He wrapped his slight arms around her waist.

"Shut up Helm. You know I could kick your ass if I wanted to…" She tried to make her voice sound tough. "I just…don't want to fall asleep alone tonight." Honestly, it had been a while since she had fallen asleep comfortably. Usually she tossed and turned for hours before finally falling asleep.

"I think I can handle that." Darren said softly, leading Alex to the twin bed. He wrapped a blanket around them and enveloped her in his arms. He hummed softly until he felt her body relax. "Sleep well beautiful." He thought of leaving, but it was just that. A thought. He pulled her in closer and closed his eyes...

--

**Wow, that was a tough chapter to write for some reason! Do not fear, most of the next chapter will be purely MoJo. If I ever get time to work on it.**


	11. Chapter 11

"You're drunk."

Maureen smiled and leaned her head on her hands. "Can't think of a better reason to get stinking drunk, how 'bout you?" She didn't wait for him to answer. "I proposed to the most perfect woman in the entire world…and she said yes." Repeating the mantra, like she couldn't believe it herself. "She said yes."

"She loves you." Collins smiled and took a sip of his beer. "Why wouldn't se say yes? You two are prefect together. I'm so happy for you Mo."

"I'm happy for me too." Her hazel eyes flashed. "I really love her."

"I know you do."

She turned and watched Joanne who gave her a small smile, still slowly twisting the ring on her finger. Maureen's heart leapt at the sight of her. Her dark corkscrew curls, her small upturned nose, her coffee eyes, her hot chocolate skin…the way she licked her lower lip when she was nervous and rubbed the pads of her palms together. Perfect. Slowly, Joanne turned her head and looked at Maureen.

"What?" She gave Maureen a strange look.

"Nothing. I was just looking at you, beautiful." Maureen said with a smile. "Thinking about how perfect you are."

Joanne blushed and leaned over to kiss her on the lips. "I'm not perfect, but thanks." She whispered in her ear, a devilish grin on her face. "Maybe we should head home…celebrate."

Maureen's smile got bigger. "Good idea…" She turned to the remaining group. "Okay guys, we're going to go home."

"And get BI-ZAY!" Mimi said with a laugh.

Choosing to ignore the dancer, Joanne turned to Roger. "Can you make sure that Alex gets to school? She knows the subway line, just make sure that she gets up."

"You're leaving ROGER in charge?" Mimi snickered. "Yeah, that's gonna turn out well."

Roger rolled his eyes. "I'm perfectly able to wake a teenager up. What time does she have school?"

"Classes start at 8:30am."

"Okay…maybe…" Roger ran his hands through his hair. "That's early."

"I'll swing by before I go to class. Plus I know those two morons don't have anything to eat." Collins said with a grin.

"Thanks." Joanne nodded, her head bouncing slowly. "Okay. We need to go home. I feel like a bobblehead."

"Let's go, my beautiful fiancée." Maureen said, the words rolling off her tongue sweetly. "I can't wait to celebrate."

--

"So I had you suprised?" Maureen said with a smirk, pushing her damp hair off her face.

"What do you think?" Joanne grinned and pulled the satin sheets around her chest. "Where did you find this ring? It's perfect."

"It caught my eye...and besides, Alex helped me pick it out."

That caught Joanne's attention. "SHE helped YOU pick out an engagement ring for ME?" Her eyes widened in surprise.

"Yeah. We had a talk. As long as you don't intend on leaving her anytime soon, I think we're cool."

Joanne raised an eyebrow and looked at Maureen in astonishment. "What do you mean?"

"The reason why Alex was being such a bitch...she figured that if she was, I'd leave you and she'd have you all to herself. I think she's trying to make up for lost time." Maureen twirled a piece of Joanne's hair around her finger. "I actually think it's kind of sweet."

"I guess I didn't really see it like that...I just thought of her being a teenager and throwing fits because...well, she's a teenager. I didn't think that there was actual LOGIC behind them."

"Enough talking." Maureen whispered. "We can talk tomorrow..."

--

Darren opened his eyes and blinked, trying to adjust to the dim lighting. Alex was asleep, he head lying across his body. Slowly he crawled off the bed and grabbed his jacket that was hanging on the doorknob.

"Hold it."

Sighing, Darren turned around, his eyes glued to the floor. "Yeah.?

"Looks like SOMEONE is doing the walk of shame." Roger snickered from the couch. He strummed a few chords on his guitar before looking back at the teen. "If Joanne catches you, you're dead. I hope it was worth your left nut."

"We didn't DO anything." Darren muttered. "She said she was having problems falling asleep, so I just stayed with her. Besides, do you REALLY think that even WE'D be dumb enough to do it when Mark in the other room?"

Roger contemplated the comment for a moment before nodding. "Okay, I'll let you off with just a warning." He watched as the boy shrugged and started towards the door. "Where are you going?"

"Home. Why?" He pulled his thin jacket around him. "Got school tomorrow."

"Kid, this is Alphabet City. Even I won't let you wander the streets this late at night." He shifted and made space on the couch. "I won't bite you, you can sit down."

Darren wandered over and sat down gingerly on the couch. "You used to be a rockstar?"

"In another lifetime." Roger said softly. He strummed another few chords. "You play?"

"Wouldn't call it playing." Darren sighed. "Had a guitar, don't have one anymore." He didn't elaborate on the story, but ran his finger over the shape of guitar.

"Here, play something." Roger shoved the guitar into Darren's hands. "It's like riding a bike..."

The teen smiled and his lithe fingers softly ran over the strings. The music was soft, muted, like Darren. Understated compared to Roger's brazen flash of confidence and talent, the teen played for a few minutes, humming softly. Almost apologetically, he passed the guitar back to Roger.

"You're pretty good."

"Thanks." Darren stifled a yawn. "I really should get going. I don't have any clothes here...anything to sleep in...something to wear tomorrow."

Roger shook his head. "I may not be big on rules, but you're not leaving. I'll get you some clothes for tonight and you can borrow some from Mark tomorrow."

Sighing, Darren relented. "Okay."

"I'll just clear off the couch."

--

"You jiggle when you giggle!" Joanne lamented, giving Maureen a small shove. "What's so funny anyway?"

"I just thought of something."

"Hmm?" Joanne mumbled softly tracing her finger over Maureen's bare hip.

"Alex."

"Care to elaborate?"

"Alex first thing in the morning, in the same place as Roger." A grin crossed her face. "I would pay good money to see that."

Joanne started laughing, closing her eyes. "Oh God, I can just imagine it. Though, I'm sure we'll get the whole play by play by one of them."

"Soon."

Rolling over Joanne stole a look at the clock. "3:48. No wonder I'm exhausted...."

"I know why I'M exhausted." Maureen smirked. "But I agree. Sleep and then pick up where this left off?"

"Mmmmm hmmmm." Joanne agreed, closing her eyes.

--

"JESUS CHRIST! GET IT OFF!" Darren screamed as he felt something land on top of him. He opened his eyes and met the dancing blue ones of Alex. "Shit, you scared the crap out of me."

Alex grinned and pulled her wet hair into a ponytail. "Good." She waited a few seconds before giving him an exasperated look. "Go shower. It's 630am and I'm STARVING. Food food food food food food food food food food food." She chanted pushing the boy off the couch. "Go, or else I'm going to be really grumpy. And you don't want to see that."

Slowly Darren crawled off the couch and made his way to the washroom. Alex waited until she heard the water run, then she bolted off the couch and started rummaging through the cupboards.

"How can someone so small make SO MUCH NOISE?!" Roger grumbled, stumbling out of his room. "Turn it down Alex." He flopped on the couch and held his head. "It's fucking 6am. Do you have to be so loud?"

"Do you guys have ANY food in this house?" She mumbled.

"Cap'in crunch."

"Gross. It's just sugar. Anything to drink?" Alex hopped off the counter and skipped towards the fridge. She pulled out a container and read the label. "Glucose. Fructose. Sucrose. Corn syrup. And hey, SUGAR. I'm surprised that you guys aren't in a diabetic coma already." She flopped on the floor below Roger and prodded him with her finger until he opened a blurry eye.

"What!?"

"I'm bored." She sighed. "And hungry."

"Wait till your boyfriend gets out the shower, then you can bother him." Roger rolled over and pulled a pillow over his head. "You're like a fucking yappy dog in the morning."

"If you had real food, I'd be normal." Alex sighed and continued to poke Roger. "I'd leave you alone."

"I'm going to beat you to death with my guitar if you don't stop." He mumbled. "Swear I will."

"I'm speedy quick. I'll get away." Alex reasoned grabbing a lock of Roger's hair. She twirled it around a pencil and stuck it against his head. "There, you're pretty."

Darren chuckled, emerging from the washroom wearing a sweater he had borrowed from Mark. "She's not going to stop." He pulled at the bottom of the sweater. "Does it look alright?"

"You look fine. Now can we go and EAT?" Alex sat up and gave Darren a small pout. "I'm ready to gnaw my arm off. Then you'd be stuck with an armless girlfriend."

A loud thump at the front of the loft announcing Collins's entrance, made the two teens turn. "I hear something about someone being hungry?" Collins waved a bag a bag of muffins in the air. He held them up trying to avoid the flash that was jumping at him. "Whoa girl, down."

"SWEET JESUS YOU BROUGHT FOOD!" Alex jumped at Collins and tried to grab the bag from his hands. "Come ON Collins."

He laughed and handed the bag over. "You were going to gnaw your arm off?"

Alex grabbed the bag and the two coffees in his hand. "Mhmm." She mumbled taking a long swallow of the black steaming liquid. "You're a lifesaver." She said around the second muffin she had already devoured. "I'm feeling better."

"After hoovering that, you damn well should." Darren rolled his eyes and grabbed the coffee off the table. "Thanks for breakfast."

Collins eyed the teen. "You're welcome. What are you doing here? Hope it was worth it, because Joanne is going to have your right nut pretty soon."

"What's up with you guys and my nuts?" Darren mumbled, tearing off a piece of muffin. "Roger's already threatened leftie, now you have to go and pick on rightie? And we didn't do anything. I slept on the couch."

"Mm hmm. It's true." Alex said grabbing another muffin. "Anyway, we have to get to school. It's gonna take us like...an hour to get there by the subway."

"Let's go garberator." Collins said chuckling.

--

AN – I'm not dead, I swear. I've just been really busy. I'm working 40 hours a week at my regular job, an extra 20 tutoring, another 15 coaching debate and then I'm taking classes on top of it all.

**I hope you all liked this chapter.**


	12. Chapter 12

Joanne rolled over and caught a glimpse of the clock on her night table. She sighed, and was thankful that she called in and wasn't going to work today. 11.17 am. Turning her attention to the diva sleeping beside her, Joanne press her lips lightly on Maureen's naked collar bone. She continued her assault until the brunette opened her eyes.

"Morning, fiancée."

A smile crossed Joanne's face. "I don't think I'll ever get tired of hearing that."

"How about wife?" Maureen replied, pressing a soft kiss on her fiancée's lips.

"I guess I can get used to that too." She yawned and stretched her arms above her head. "I wish we could stay in bed all day."

Maureen's eyebrows wiggled. "We can, if you want."

"We have to be at the rink by four o'clock, remember?" Joanne said softly. "It's Alex's first game and we all agreed to be there to watch, remember?"

"Right." Maureen ran her hands through her dark hair and gave Joanne a smile. "Guess I forgot." A small pout crossed her lips. "We're going to be so out of place there." She admitted.

"We'll make it through, we always do." Joanne rolled out of bed and padded to the washroom, smiling at the diva over her shoulder. "Though, I'm not sure how much time we have...we might have to shower together, it's quicker you know." She laughed as Maureen jumped off the bed, quickly heading towards the washroom....

--

"It's cold."

"We're in a rink, it's supposed to be cold."

Roger scowled and pulled his scarf around his neck. "If you're really that cold, go buy a coffee." Joanne said, rolling her eyes climbing onto the bleachers.

"I will. Anyone else want anything?" Roger retorted, making a face at Joanne's back.

"Sure, I'll come and get a coffee with you." Maureen said, giving Joanne's gloved hand a quick squeeze. "Do you want one, Pookie?"

"If they have a mocha, that would be great." She fished in her pockets and passed Maureen a few bills. The stands slowly began to fill up, voices getting louder, the excitement growing.

"Excuse me, is this spot taken?"

Joanne looked down at a woman who was smiling at her, motioning to the empty spot to her left.

"No, not at all." Joanne returned the smile back and shifted over slightly. There was still plenty of room to her right, and Mimi was holding spots on the row below them. "Hi, I'm Joanne Jefferson."

"Leslie Russell, my son is Kris, number 10." She said with an easy smile. She was in her mid to late forties, her dark hair pulled back in a conservative braid.

"My sister, Alex, is number nine." Joanne pointed to where Alex was warming up.

"Oh, it's YOUR sister. We've heard all about it at the Parent Council meetings." Leslie flashed a grin. "A few of us," pointing to a few other women who were filing in, "got into quite the argument with the administration about her playing on the BOY'S team."

"I expected as much." Joanne said with a shrug. "Thanks for your support."

"Well, the boys lead the charge to be quite honest." Leslie patted the shoulders of two women in front of her. "This is Sarah Keetley, our goalie's mother and this is Andrea Sawyer, her son is Michael, number 23."

"Nice to meet you." Joanne extended her hand and smiled. "So how long have you guys been...?"

"Hockey moms?" Andrea supplied. "Well, Mike's been playing since he's been about four. I'm guessing you're new to this?"

"First game. Alex just moved in with me and my fiancée about 2 months, we're still adjusting, but it's something she did before so we're happy to support her."

Sarah smiled. "And that would be your fiancée?"

Collins waved at Joanne, a coffee in one hand. Mark, Roger, Angel and Maureen filed after him.

"Not exactly. The woman with the long hair behind him is." Joanne smiled proudly as Maureen jumped up the bleachers and handed her the mocha. She waited for the conversation to die when they heard of her sexual orientation, but the women kept chatting like it was nothing unusual. "This is Maureen Johnson."

"Nice to meet you." Leslie smiled and listened through all of the introductions. "It's going to be a great season for the Hawks this year, that's what the team is called, Hunter College Hawks."

The conversation started until the players lined up for the National Anthem.

--

"You have a fucking girl on your team? You guys are so bad you needed to draft a girl?"

Darren looked through the bars of his cage and glared at the teen lining up across from him. "Shut up, she's twice the player you'll EVER be."

"I'd love to shower with her after games. I'd wash away all the sweat..."

Swallowing hard Darren took his spot at the faceoff circle and looked up at the linesman. "Drop the puck already." He mumbled around his mouthguard. The game was on, and this time. It was personal...

Alex caught the puck on her backhand and sped up ice. She could feel the other team baring down on her, the forwards closing in from behind, the defense trying to mind the gap. Quickly she shot the puck, using the large defenseman as a screen. The sense of relief and the euphoria of scoring rushed through her as she saw the puck hit the back of the net.

"Lucky shot." A big forward hissed as he skated by.

"Expect more of them, fatass." She retorted skating to the bench. "I can do this all game long."

"You're gonna get it, Jefferson." He called after her.

"Gotta catch me first." Alex grinned and grabbed some water at the bench.

"Jefferson, don't piss him off more than he already is." The coach said giving her a sharp smack on the top of her helmet. "He's going to be gunning for you."

"Whatever, like I said, he has to catch me." She grinned through the bars of her cage and took a quick swallow of water.

"Don't be too cocky about it Jefferson. He's big, mean and is now going to be looking for revenge."

Alex rolled her eyes and adjusted her helmet. Darren gave her a small smile and hit her on her padded pants. "Just try to behave."

"Can't promise anything…"

--

She didn't see him coming. She didn't even have the puck.

"Alex, watch out!"

But it was too late, the words were out of his mouth as the other player hit Alex, her small body flying into the boards. The whistle blew, but he was already flying towards her prone body. Silence. The rink was silent. His helmet was thrown on the ice, his eyes searching the crowd for Joanne. Their eyes met, mirrors of the panic they each felt.

"Alex…Alex…Do you hear me?"

Alex tried to blink a few times. She heard someone speaking to her…but it sounded like she was in a bubble or underwater. Her head swam, the colours blended together.

"You fucking killed her." Darren spat out, shoving the boy out of the way. "Fuck you Getslaf."

The taller boy shrugged slightly and pushed Darren out of the way. "Girls shouldn't be playing a boy's sport anyway."

Shaking his head, Darren fell to his knees beside her. "Alex…hey…Alex…wake up."

Footsteps behind him, sliding on the ice. He didn't look up. The trainer gently pulled him away. "Helm, head to the bench. Go." He gently removed Alex's helmet who had forced her eyes open. "Don't move."

"I'm fine." She mumbled, sitting up. "Did you catch the number of the truck that hit me?"

"You probably have a concussion." The trainer said, trying to look in her eyes.

"I was winded. I'm fine." She struggled to get to her knees and started to get to her feet. The crowd reacted and cheered, the other players slapping their sticks against the ice. Slowly she skated towards the bench and sat down beside Darren who was looking at her, concern in his eyes. "I'm FINE."

"Jefferson, you okay?"

Alex nodded. "Yeah, fine coach. Just got the wind knocked out of me, but I'm okay."

"Sure?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." She tightened her helmet and chewed on her mouth guard.

"I'm gonna kill that guy." Darren muttered.

"Hit 'em where it hurts. On the scoreboard." She replied leaning forward on her forearms against the boards.

--

"Alex!"

Emerging from what used to be the referee's room, her hair wet and pulled back in a loose ponytail, Alex turned around and smiled at her sister and the rest of the bohemians as they ran up to her.

"Alex! How are you feeling?" Joanne wrapped her arms around her and held her close. "Shit, you had me

so scared….you had everyone scared."

"I'm FINE." She grinned and held her arms out wide. "See, completely fine."

Darren came out of the other locker room and came behind her. "You're fucking thick headed." He gave her a light shove.

She just grinned and pulled her jacket tightly around her. "I'm hungry."

"Course you are, you're always hungry."

"I guess we should take the players of the game out for supper." Collins said with a smile.

"It's called first and second stars. And yes, you should take us out for supper."

"Before you eat your own arm?"Alex grinned. "Something like that."

--

Darren stood up and pulled his wallet out. It was more of a game than anything. He knew that Joanne would yell at him and tell him to put the wallet back. He would still offer though. He knew that she would never accept his money, but it was the thought that counted.

"Put your wallet away." Joanne said giving him a sideways glance.

"Thanks for supper, Joanne."

"Don't worry about it."

He rocked on his feet and looked at his watch. "I'm going to head home. Thanks again for the meal."

"Be safe out there, superstar." Collins called as Darren waved and started to leave the restaurant. Alex ran up behind him and gave him a light kiss on the back of his neck.

"I'll see you tomorrow." He whispered. "I'll be at your place at one." Looking over her shoulder, he gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.

--

He snuck in. It was a Friday night and was fully expecting the small apartment to be near empty. Maybe the youngest were in the house, probably watching TV on the 13 inch black and white set they owned. He sighed. Everything was so different compared to Joanne's. Her place was clean, almost spotless, a large TV, cable…their place. Rotting food on the floor, discarded needles, dirty bodies…he wanted to be back at Joanne's

"Where the fuck have you been?"

He flinched, it was an involuntary reaction to the harsh tone of the voice. "Hockey." Moving slowly towards his room, well, storage room really, he kept his eyes low avoiding eye contact.

"This is your boy?" A voice, deep and gravely with booze, hatred and probably more drugs than a local pharmacy caused Darren to shudder.

"Yeah, he's mine."

"Little runt."

Darren looked up. The man was large, well over 6'5 and carried his weight poorly around his middle. His eyes, dark and sunken, bloodshot. He sneered at Darren. "What you staring at?"

"Nothing." He looked down at the floor again and tried to shuffle away.

"Hey runt. I wasn't done talking to you. You go get me some smack. Rodney's downstairs."

"No." Darren shook his head. "I don't touch drugs, I don't do drugs. You can get them yourself."

"You self centered little bastard. I gave you food, a roof over your head. You go get whatever he tells you to." His mother gave him a sharp shove.

"I could have gotten that in an orphanage!" His temper broke, all the emotions flowed out of him. "You can't tell me what to do!"

"I'm your mother. I sure as FUCK can tell you what to do."

The sound of the smack made his head ring. It kept coming. More fists. More than just his mother. He didn't react. Then it all went black.

--


	13. Chapter 13

I'm taking a bit of a creative licence saying they had text messaging "back then." I realise that it was in it's infancy, but it works for the plot line

--

Blood. There was so much blood. Where were his pants? Who cared? He chastised himself and took a deep breath. That hurt. He tried again. The salty rusty taste of blood made him gag and choke. So much blood. His vision was red with blood. Sticky blood. He could feel it pool underneath him, he could feel it bubble as he breathed. It wasn't a breath really, it was more of a gasp, a cough. He should call someone. Anyone. His phone was in his pants. Where were his pants anyway? The dust kicked up around his nose mixing with a blood, making a thick rust paste. He need to get to a phone. Painfully he groped around until his hands felt the stiff denim, fumbling through his pockets. His hands shook with the effort, his energy draining quickly. He coughed, more blood, but this time not from his mouth. Why couldn't be speak? Why couldn't be breathe? Text message. His fingers, from memory, flew over the small keys, leaving puddles of blood.

HELP.

He sighed and closed his eyes. The rusty acid smell of his own blood flooded his senses. He prayed. He was never one for God, but he felt a necessity. With a finger he wrote a note on the floor in blood. And closed his eyes.

--

"Shut it up! Shut it up!"

Alex rolled her eyes and grabbed her cell phone off of the coffee table and stuck her tongue out at Maureen who threw a handful of popcorn at her.

"You're cleaning that up." Joanne nudged her fiancée with her forearm. "Who's on the phone?"

Chewing on her lower lip, Alex looked up under her lashes. "Darren. He sent me a text." She opened it up and stared at the four letters. "Jo…the text just says help."

"Call him back."

Quickly, Alex dialed the seven numbers. "His phone is dead. Jo…I have a really bad feeling about this."

"It could be a joke…" Maureen reasoned.

"Mo…when have you ever known Darren to joke about something like that. His idea of a joke is 'What happens when the pigs take over the world?' An aporkalypse! This isn't his style. Please?"

Sighing, Joanne looked at her watch. "It's almost midnight, Lex."

"I don't care. He wouldn't have texted me if he wasn't in trouble. Please?"

"Fine. Do you know his address?"

Alex held up her phone. "One step ahead of you." She held her phone up. "Kris texted me Darren's address. 1040 Avenue C." She shrugged.

"I now see why Darren always came over here." Joanne grabbed her jacket. "We'll call Collins on the road. It's probably better if we have a male with us."

Nodding, Alex grabbed her jacket and shoved the phone in her pocket. "Let's go."

--

Collins walked over a few passed out bodies, holding Alex's hand tightly. "You okay sweetie? Hold my hand tightly. Joanne and Maureen are out in the car. You have the number in the phone already?"

Alex nodded. "Yeah. Let's just go find Darren, okay?" She swallowed nervously.

"It's okay. Just keep holding my hand." Collins gave her hand a squeeze. "We're almost there." He said softly, walking around another body. "Don't worry…we'll find him. What's the number?"

"1010. We're almost there." Alex looked around, her eyes as wide as saucers taking in the scene. "Collins…"

"He'll be okay." He knocked on the door. "Hello? Darren? Anyone?" Gently moving Alex to the back wall he looked down at her sternly. "Stay here. I'm going to knock down the door. I'll come and get you." When Alex nodded, he took a few steps back and gave the door a sharp kick. The sight took his breath away. "Alex. Call 911." She started to walk towards him. "Just call 911. NOW." Collins rushed in and laid his jacket over Darren's naked body. "S'okay buddy. Help is coming." Kneeling down he watched the boy struggle for breath, blood bubbling from a wound in his throat. "Help is coming. Just hold on."

Darren opened his eyes, staring blankly at Collins, his mouth opening a crack. "Lex." He gargled.

"She's here."

"Love." The teen whispered before closing his eyes again.

"Darren!" Alex screamed, coming in silently behind Collins. "911 is coming. Darren…oh my god…Collins…" Tears streamed down her face. "Collins, he's going to be okay…right? Right?"

Sirens in the background, yelling voices and footsteps soon came as Collins held Alex tight in his arms. When the EMTs got there, Collins softly ushered Alex out, handing her off to Joanne when they got out of the building. He shook his head over Alex's bowed head.

--

She didn't say a word. Her eyes glued to her hands, tears leaking silently on the upholstery. They sped to the hospital following the ambulance.

"Alex, everything is going to be alright." Maureen said, looking at the teen in the rearview mirror. Alex didn't respond and stared out the window.

"He left me a note." Alex said quietly. She went to staring out the window. "Who would do this to Darren?" She said more to herself than to anyone else. "He wouldn't hurt a fly."

"There are people out there who are crazy." Joanne said softly. "But the police are on it. They'll find who did it."

Alex nodded and pressed her face up against the window. "We were supposed to go skating tomorrow." She said sadly.

Collins put an arm around her. "We're almost at the hospital."

"We were supposed to go skating."

--

The car was still moving when Alex jumped out. Joanne braked hard and looked over her shoulder at Collins who gave a short nod and jumped out of the car after her. Joanne parked a little ways away and she and Maureen quickly made their way toward the hospital. They found Collins holding Alex in a reverse bear hug, standing in front of the triage desk.

"We're here to see Darren Helm." Alex said softly. The nurse looked at her and back at her computer.

"Family?"

"No." Frowning Alex looked at the nurse. "His family wasn't home. I'm his girlfriend."

"Sorry, family only."

Alex looked like she was about to have a meltdown, her face reddening and her jaw clenching, reminding Maureen of Joanne when she got upset. "But..but…" She clenched her teeth and tried to break free from Collins's grip. "Lemme go."

"Not till you calm down." Collins said softly. He turned his attention to the nurse. "He was brought in an ambulance and police officers. We were the ones to find him." He started to explain, his grip loosing on Alex who stopped her struggling. "The officers told us to follow them."

Straining on her tiptoes, Alex peered past the desk trying to catch a glimpse of Darren. Collins released her, leaning forward on the desk, Joanne and Maureen beside him. Alex looked around slowly, finally free from any adult restraints...she took a step backwards rewarding herself with more space between her and the three adults in front of her. The glass door that led to the triage rooms opened with a slight hiss as a nurse ushered in a crying child and his mother. Taking it as a chance to run, Alex bolted for the door, sliding in before the shut, and she was off to the races. Her rubber-soled shoes flew quickly across the tiled floor. Her eyes scanned the rooms, ignoring the swears she heard behind her. Then she stopped. Blood. Lots of it. She blinked madly, trying to clear the tears that were clouding her vision. Darren. She saw him. She heard the yells from the room.

"He's still losing blood!"

"He has a punctured spleen and lung."

"Trache him."

"We need a rape kit done."

Alex ran into the room, sliding on the blood that covered the floor. Her body was no longer her own. She covered her ears with her hands, tears streaming down her face. "He's hurting! Make it stop!" She screamed.

"Get her out of her!" A doctor yelled.

Throwing herself at Darren's bedside, Alex brushed some hair off his forehead. "You're okay." She whispered softly. "You're okay." His blood mixed with her tears, staining her white shirt. Strong arms pulled her away. "PUT ME DOWN!" She screamed, her legs kicking. "Can't you see he's hurt!?" Her voice was now sobs. "He's hurt."

"This yours?" The orderly asked Joanne who was standing outside the door.

She nodded. "Alex...Alex you have to calm down."

"Blood. I have his blood. He needs it. Blood. He needs it." She gasped tearing at her shirt. "I...can't...breathe." Her eyes were filled with panic.

--

"Alexandria had a panic attack, we gave her some sedatives to calm her down." Dr Essalah said as he gave the teen a soft smile. "She has been under a lot of stress, no?"

Joanne sighed. "Her boyfriend was brought in earlier. She was one of the people who found him." She looked at Alex whose head was drooping forward, her eyes blinking every once in a while. A valiant attempt to stay conscious, one that she was losing. And quickly.

"I see. That must be tough for her. If you wish, I will go and check to see where young Mister," He looked hopefully at the three adults.

"Helm."

"Where young Mister Helm is."

"That would be great." Maureen beamed and softly tied Alex's hair up away from her face. Alex's head rolled around, her eyes staring at something only she could see. "You're okay sweetie."

"I feel funny." She said rubbing her eyes.

"It's just the medicine." Joanne said softly.

"Where's Darren?" She looked down at the hospital scrub shirt she was wearing. "Where's my shirt?"

"You got it dirty."

"Oh." Her eyes shut and leaned forward. "When…wake…." She stopped and almost fell into Collins's arms.

"She out." He chuckled and laid her softly on the gurney.

Joanne ran her hands through her hair. "I'm going to go talk with the doctor who is working with Darren. If they haven't gotten a hold of his parents yet, he is going to be handed off to social services…and he may need a lawyer. Stay with her. I'm not sure how long those meds are going to keep her out."

--

"Sir?"

Doctor Keith Hsu looked over his shoulder and sighed. He peeled off his gloves and threw them in the waste basket. "Yes?"

Joanne extended her hand. "I'm Joanne Jefferson. My sister's boyfriend Darren Helm was brought in earlier. I was just wondering how he's doing and if you were able to notify the next of kin."

Keith frowned. He hated this part of his job. "He's up in surgery. He's quite a mess, but he seems like a fighter, so we're hoping for the best. And we did reach his family. The police were over there and made some arrests for drugs and prostitution…including his mother." He sighed. "When they told her that her son was in the hospital she asked if he was dead yet." He rubbed his eyes with his hands. "They think she did it."

Swallowing hard, Joanne shook her head. "No other next of kin?"

"No. He's going to be handed over to child protective services as soon as he's stable."

"Hell he is. I'm a child's right's attorney, and Darren Helm is my client. They have to get through me first."


	14. Chapter 14

Alex opened her eyes and blinked. Her head pounded, her eyes burned, there was an odd taste in her mouth and she was freezing.

"Hey."

She rolled over and looked at Collins who was sitting beside her, reading a magazine. He smiled at her softly and unfolded himself from the chair. "Feeling better, doll?"

A blank stare. "Where's Joanne?" Her voice was hoarse from crying, screaming and the drugs.

"She's out in the hallway talking." Collins inched forward and perched on the edge of her bed as much as his large frame would allow. He reached out and pulled her small body to hers. "You okay?"

Pulling the blanket up to her chin she allowed herself to lean against Collins. She shook her head slowly. "No."

"What can I do for you?"

Her eyes, usually the colour of the Caribbean Sea were dark with pain and exhaustion. Skin the colour of rich caramel was pale and pasty. A heavy sigh wracked her body, like it was her first breath of fresh air in a week. Turning to Collins she shrugged. "I want my old life back." Tears fell from her eyes, running down and soaking the front of the hospital robe. "People keep dying around me. I...I don't want this. I..I just want to die."

At the sound of her crying, Maureen and Joanne entered the room and rushed to the teen's bedside. "Alex...Lexi..."

It was no use. The dam of emotions had been broken and everything was rushing out. Sobs, soul tearing cries racked her body. She cried until it seemed liked there was nothing left...her body drained of all emotion.

Collins and Joanne exchanged glances, their silent look saying more than words ever could. Concern. Confusion. Fear. Love. They watched helplessly as Alex curled up into a ball and sobbed until she seemed to run out of energy and fell silent.

"What do we do?" Maureen whispered watching as the girl's chest rose and fell in a steady cadence.

"They'll release her soon enough, they need the room." Joanne replied, brushing Alex's hair back from her face. "We'll take her home."

"And then?" Standing next to Collins, Maureen watched as her fiancée comforted the girl.

"I'm not sure." Joanne admitted, separating herself from her sister's bedside. "Can you guys keep watching her? I want to go speak to child services."

"Sure."

"Thanks." She gave one last look to her sister before leaving the room.

"Mo." Collins said softly, wrapping his arm around the woman. "You're doing great."

The brunette stared at the tall dark professor and sighed. "It's happening so fast Collins. I just hope..."

"You guys are doing fine. Darren will be okay, so will Alex." He kissed the top of her head. "I'm gonna call the rest of the group. Will you be okay with Alex?"

"Yeah." Maureen took up post next to Alex's bed. "Come on Alex, be strong."

The girl sighed in her sleep and pulled her head in tight in her arms...

--

"When will we know anything?" Joanne leaned against the desk and stared at the young doctor.

Keith rubbed his eyes and looked up at the woman. "I'm not sure. Dr. West is still in surgery, he'll beep me when he's out." He looked down at the chart and back at Joanne. "How is your sister?"

"She woke up, but she's still kind of in shock." Joanne sighed. "She's still a kid. Both of them are."

"I know." Keith stood up, stood up, stretching to his full height of 6'5. "Would you like a coffee?"

Joanne smiled at the doctor. "Sure, but I'll tell you now. I'm a lesbian."

Grinning, Keith stepped around the desk. "Good, because my wife would kill me." He turned to the nurses. "I'll be back in 15." They walked down the hall, Joanne speeding up to keep up to Keith's long strides. "I'm expecting to get a call from doctor West in the next hour." He held the elevator door open for Joanne.

"Will you be his doctor?"

"For the most part, though my shift will be over at 6am." He punched the main floor button and sighed. "Hope to get home in time to see my kid off to school."

"How old?"

Keith smiled. "I have two. The oldest is seven, the younger one is four." He pulled out two pictures out of his front pocket and handed them to Joanne. Two small boys, both with dark skin and dark eyes smiled at the camera. The next picture had the same two boys, Keith and a stunning tall black woman smiling at the camera.

"They're adorable." Joanne handed the pictures back. "So is your wife." She couldn't help but add with a grin.

Keith rolled his eyes and replaced the pictures in his pocket. "She's pretty great." The elevator door chimed and they exited. "So what is next?"

"We'll release Alex."

Joanne leaned against the elevator door. "And Darren?"

"As soon as he's out, I'll let you know." He rubbed his eyes with the palms of his hands, like he was trying to erase what he has seen. "It's rough when things like this happen, especially to kids. It never gets any easier."

"I know. I deal with a lot of cases like that...but never anyone I've known." The elevator doors opened up to signal their arrival. "The police think it was his mother." She sighed, an almost defeated sigh. "His own mother."

They walked in silence to the counter, each ordering a coffee, sitting down on the plastic chairs. "Whoever did it...I'm going to get them."

Keith gave a sad smile. "I hope you do...but I've seen so many kids fall through the cracks."

Swallowing the bitter warm liquid Joanne looked down. "I know." Her dark eyes followed a man in a spotless suit. "Child services."

Nodding, Keith took another sip of his coffee. "Good luck Joanne."

She smiled and skipped to catch the man. "Excuse me. Excuse me, Mr. Nichols. Mr. Nichols." Joanne caught up to the man and stopped him.

"Miss Jefferson?" He turned and frowned at her, removing his glasses. They knew each other well. She knew him as a self righteous sanctimonious bastard. He knew her as a thorn in his side.

"May I speak to you? It's about Darren Helm." She brushed a curl off of her face.

"I was actually just going to speak to his doctor about that."

"I'm right here." Keith came up from behind, towering over the two of them. "Keith Hsu."

"Grant Nichols." He looked at Joanne. "Am I to assume that you know Miss Jefferson?"

"I do. I am Mister Helm's doctor. He's not out of surgery yet, so I can't tell you too much, but the police officers that are waiting in the emergency lounge should be able to answer any of your questions." Keith motioned towards the two uniformed officers standing together.

"Am I right to think that you are Mister Helm's lawyer?" Grant asked turned towards Joanne.

"You would be right."

"Great." Grant rolled his eyes. "I'm going to ask for him to be put in foster care, as soon as he's able."

Joanne frowned. "What about his schooling? Especially for a child going through trauma, picking him up and moving him will do nothing to help him. He needs safety and security."

"A foster home will do that." Grant said pressing the elevator button.

"Really? We're at an all time low for the number of foster parents. Too few parents, too many kids, especially for someone like Darren who is going to an advanced school...a move out of the district would NOT be beneficial at all." She put her hands on her hips and glared down at the man.

"So what pray tell do you think we should do Miss Jefferson?"

"We wait. We wait until first of all we are sure that Darren is going to come out of surgery alright."

"Brilliant." Grant shook his head. "And if he does? What then? He's a teenaged boy from alphabet city. Like you said yourself, we're short foster families, especially ones able to handle one that will more than likely be emotionally scarred. What, pray tell do you say we do?"

Joanne gave a short shrug. "Let me handle it. But up until then, everything goes through me. Got it?"

"Got it."

Walking back towards Keith, Joanne picked her coffee up off the table. "We should go check to see how Alex is doing."

The tall doctor nodded mutely, following the lawyer into the elevator. When the doors shut, he turned to her. "That was AWESOME."

--

She twirled her hair around her finger, her eyes following Keith around the room.

"Well Alex, it looks like you're able to go home." He said with a small smile.

"Darren?"

The tall doctor squatted, so that they were at equal eye level. He placed his hands on either side of her legs and sighed. "Alex, Darren is still in surgery. I will call Joanne as soon as he is out."

"Oh." She looked around the room and pulled the thick hooded sweater tighter around her body.

"Come on Alex, you need some sleep." Joanne gently pulled the girl to a standing position.

"'Kay." She followed her sister out of the room and into the idling car.

"You know Darren is going to be okay, right?" Joanne asked softly.

The girl pressed her forehead against the window and stared blankly as the car pulled out of the parking lot.

"He's going to be okay."

"It's my fault." Alex said softly, her voice barely above a whisper. "It's all my fault."

"What do you mean Alex?"

"Everyone around me dies...It's my fault." She pulled her knees to her chest. "It's all my fault."

Joanne watched her little sister for a second before turning her eyes back to the road. "Alex...it's not your fault. You must know this."

Alex shrugged and pressed her hands over her ears. The silence surrounded her. She closed her eyes tight, engulfing herself in her own personal dark and silent prison.

_"Birds sing after a storm. Why shouldn't people feel as free to delight in whatever sunlight remains to them?" – Rose Kennedy_


	15. Chapter 15

"_**Silence is the most powerful scream."**_

.

"Okay Alex, we're here."

Alex opened her eyes and walked into the building, following Maureen and Joanne without uttering a word. Her silence was unnerving, scary even, but the look on her face was even scarier. She looked lost. She looked pained, but worst of all, she looked defeated.

"Go to bed Alex. Things will look better in the morning." Joanne coaxed.

Nothing. No emotion what so ever.

They watched as the teen padded off to her room and shut the door soundly behind her. That was the final straw. Joanne collapsed on the overstuffed couch, tears streaming down her face. She waved off Maureen and buried her head in her lap. "She looks...broken Mo."

"She'll get better..." Maureen whispered, gently draping her arms around Joanne's shoulders.

"You think?" Joanne's voice was almost a whisper.

"I know."

"How?" The mocha skinned beauty looked up, her eyes rimmed with red and heavy with unshed tears.

"She just will." Maureen placed a kiss on Joanne's forehead. "Let's go to bed. Thins always look better in the morning."

.

She rocked back and forth on her bed, her knees pulled tightly to her chest. Eyes closed, silent tears streaming down her face. She saw the blood. It was still stuck to her hands, her clothes. It invaded her senses, the smell of the blood, the feeling of it thick and sticky on her hands.

She had to shower. Again. To wipe the feeling off, to rinse the memories away...she grabbed a towel and padded to the washroom turning the water onto hot. It scalded her skin, but she stood there anyway. She scrubbed as hard as she could, using everything and anything to wash. She was raw, not just her skin, but everything. She didn't care if it hurt, in fact she welcomed it. At least pain let her know that she was still alive. She had lost all track of time, and honestly couldn't care about it. Standing in the shower until the water turned cold, she let her mind go blank. A soft knock brought her back out of her reverie.

"Are you okay Alex?"

Maureen.

Shutting off the water and wrapping a thick blanket around her body Alex opened up the door. Maureen stood in the doorway clad in black sweatpants and an oversized red shirt. She gave the teen a tentative smile.

"Are you okay?"

Alex didn't say anything and tried to shove her way past. Maureen caught her elbow, slowing the girl down to a stop. "Alex, Darren is going to be okay. It's going to take time, but he's going to be fine...and the only way he can get better is if you get better. You have to be the one to help him."

Blue-green eyes stared up at her, silent tears streaming down her mocha face. "Go get dressed, I'll put on some water for tea." Maureen prodded, giving the girl a gentle nudge towards her room. She watched as Alex's door shut and stood in the middle of the hallway. Against her better judgement, she went and gently shook Joanne awake. "Jo...Pookie..."

Sleepily Joanne cracked an eye open and looked up at her. "Yeah?"

"Alex is up...I'm going to make some tea...I think that it might be good if you come..."

Joanne was up as soon as she heard her sister's name. She threw on an oversized red sweatshirt and pulled her hair back into a ponytail. They walked into the kitchen, Maureen filling up the kettle full of water. The silence enveloped them and neither of them noticed Alex until Joanne caught, out of the corner of her eye, a flash of blue.

"Alex..." Her voice caught in her throat when she saw her sister. The girl sat at the table, her slight body pressed into a corner. Her dark and normally lively hair hung limply in front of her face, her dark skin pale, her eyes dead. Joanne chewed her lips, her eyebrows knotting together, tears welling up in the corner of her eyes. Shaking her head as an attempt to clear it, Joanne tried again. "Alex..."

The girl looked up at her, her eyes sad.

Maureen poured the hot water into the teapot and added two teabags. She watched as the tea turned darker, trying to give Joanne and Alex as much privacy as possible. Joanne stood up and wrapped her arms around Alex, tears leaking from both their eyes. Quietly Maureen poured the tea into three mugs and brought them to the table.

"Alex...I'm going to be Darren's lawyer."

Alex blinked and cocked her head to the side, her eyes asking questions.

"I'll make sure that whoever did this...they'll pay. And make sure that Darren will be taken care of." Joanne took Alex's hands in hers. "Come on Alex, say something. Anything."

The girl's eyes opened wide and she stared at Joanne and then at Maureen and then at the steaming cup of tea on the table.

"Alex, you can't just shut off. You can't just pretend this never happened. Darren's a fighter. YOU have to be a fighter." Joanne said forcefully. She shook her head. "Lex...I KNOW you're a fighter. You ARE strong. You're far stronger than I've ever been...you're far stronger than I ever WILL be."

Her jaw clenched, her teeth ground, her eyes narrowed...Alex swallowed hard, her body tense.

"Look at me." Joanne demanded, grabbing Alex's chin.

Slowly Alex looked up, her blue eyes meeting Joanne's dark ones.

"Promise me you'll fight."

They stared at each other, neither of wanting to look away. Finally Alex lowered her gaze, and gave a brief nod.

"We love you Alex. All of us." Joanne pulled Alex into a strong hug, followed my Maureen. They stood there, the three of them, wrapped in each other's arms, supporting each other.

.

Joanne stepped out onto the balcony, pulling the thick blanket around her. It was early, far too early for Maureen to be awake, far too early for most people to be up. She gripped the ringing phone tightly and put it to her ear.

"Hello, Joanne Jefferson speaking." She shut the door to the balcony and sat on the wicker chair, pulling her feet up underneath her.

"Hi Joanne, its Keith. Keith Hsu."

"Keith." Joanne straightened instinctively in the chair. "How are you?"

He chuckled. "Well, I'm in the middle of an 18 hour shift...Darren made it out of surgery and is in recovery right now."

"How's he doing?" She drummed her fingers on the arm of the chair nervously awaiting the news.

"He's hanging in there." Keith sighed. "He should be able to accept visitors later today for a short period of time."

"Thanks." Joanne stared out onto the New York skyline, watching the smoke rising quietly. "How bad is it?"

He hesitated. She knew.

"He's not out of the woods yet." He looked over the chart in his hands. "I'd rather not discuss this over the phone." He said quietly.

"Of course. Would you like me to meet you at the hospital?"

"I'll be here until noon."

Joanne stood up and leaned against the railing. "Okay, I'll come down. I'll leave Alex here."

"Probably for the best." Keith flipped through Darren's chart in front of him. "I'll see you here."

Joanne closed her phone and took one last look out onto the skyline. The New York skyline that told so much about the city, but hid the dark underbelly so well. She walked back inside the apartment, folding the blanket and leaving it on the back of the chair. Quickly she scribbled a note and left it on the table, shutting the door behind her.

.

Keith hunched over the chart and made a few almost illegible marks on it. He looked up when he heard staccato heels on the tile floor approaching.

"Leslie, I'm going to take a few minutes." He told the nurse that was sitting behind the desk, placing the chart on the desk. "Joanne."

Joanne gave him a terse smile. "Thanks for the phone call Keith."

"Anytime." He ushered her towards Darren's room. "We have him in a drug induced coma so that his body will be under less stress. We had to remove his spleen and one of his kidneys." He watched as Joanne took a sharp breath and shook her head. "He had a punctured lung that we had to inflate...he has broken bones..."

"But...he's going to be okay, right?"

"Joanne, I wish that I could tell you that he's going to make a full recovery. I really do, but we won't know for a while..." He stood in front of the door and crossed his arms across his chest. "Joanne...I should warn you...he doesn't look good."

She nodded and gently pushed the door open. The automatic sounds of machines greeted her. Darren's lithe frame was hidden behind masks, bandages and tubes. "Oh God." She turned and looked at Keith who was standing in the corner of the room, checking one of the machines.

He sighed. "Joanne..."

Bile rose in the throat and she quickly turned and left the room. He found her leaning over the garbage can, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.

"I can't let Alex see him like this. I just can't." Tears welled in the corners of her eyes.

"You can't let her see you like this either."

"He's right Jo-jo."

Joanne looked up and saw the menacing frame of Collins standing above her. "Mo called me and said you were heading here. I thought you could use a friend." He wrapped his arms around her and let her cry into his shirt. "Everyone else is at your place with Mo and Alex."

She sniffled. "Thanks Collins." She looked up at Keith who gave her a smile.

"I'll stay in touch. I left a note for the next doctor to give you a call if anything changes." He patted her arm and went back to the desk.

.

"We haven't even thought about it." Maureen admitted with a shrug. She was sitting on the edge of the cupboard talking to Mimi. "With what happened to Darren and Alex..." She shrugged. "Wedding plans just seem frivolous I guess."

Mark smiled from his post in the doorway. "Good for you Mo." He stole a glance to the living room where Roger, Angel and Alex sat. Roger leaned back against the couch keeping an eye on the girl who hadn't spoken since they had gotten in.

"Did you see that the Rangers lost again last night?"

Alex gave him the briefest glance before going back to staring out the window. Everyone exchanged worried glances, their eyes speaking volumes.

"Do you want something to eat?" Mimi called from the kitchen. "Collins is on the phone, he said they'll pick up lunch."

"Alex?" Angel prodded gently.

The girl looked up at her and nodded slowly. She went back to staring out the window until Collins and Joanne returned with the aforementioned food.

"How is she?" Joanne asked piling food onto her plate.

"Hasn't said a word since she got up." Roger reported piling the food high.

Joanne sighed and walked over to where her sister was picking at the freshroll on her plate. "I saw Darren today."

The girl's eyes lit up and she cocked her towards Joanne. "How is he?" She whispered.

"The doctor says that he'll be okay."

Alex poked at her food and looked down. "What do you think?"

"Alex, I'm not a doctor."

"But you know."

Joanne nodded and put her plate down. "Alex, all you need to know is that he's here. He's a fighter, he's going to make it. He might not be 100% tomorrow...but he's going to make it." She pointed to Alex's still full plate. "Now eat. Dr. Hsu is going to call me tomorrow, and he'll tell us if we can go visit him, okay?"

"I'm not very hungry."

"Alex, you have to eat something. You wasting away isn't going to help him, now is it?"

Alex looked around, everyone smiling down at her. "No."

"Okay, then it's settled. Eat up." Joanne piled some noodles onto her plate. "We'll get through this Lexi."

"We will." Maureen added with a smile.

"All of us." Angel added.

"We're family." Mark said through a mouthful of noodles.

Alex gave a soft smile and started to pick at the food on her plate.


End file.
